An introduction to CrossOver Games for Linux

[Cyrus_the_virus]

What exactly is CrossOver Games

CrossOver Games is a commercial variant of Wine released by CodeWeavers (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxgames/?ad=53) with support for many of today's most popular games. CrossOver Games is tested for performance and stability with many games such as Guild Wars, Eve Online, and Steam games like Half-Life 2 and Portal.

Minimum system requirements

Linux:
An x86 based Linux distribution based on glibc 2.3 or greater
Perl 5 or greater
IJG JPEG library (libjpeg)
It is also recommended that you have a web browser installed.
40MB of available disk space (plus space for the Windows applications)
64MB of RAMMac:
Intel-based Macintosh system running Mac OS X
120 MB of free disk space
Systems with integrated Intel GPUs will suffer some performance degradation on graphically intense games.The Demo version of CrossOver

The demo version of CrossOver has all the functions and features of the full version. Any Windows software that works on a full version will also run in the demo version, and vice versa. The important limitation of the demo version is that bottles can only be used for 7 days. This means that any Windows packages that you install using the demo version will cease to work 7 days after their installation. When a demo installation is unlocked, all existing bottles and applications are unlocked as well. To unlock a demo, you must have a support account with CodeWeavers. You can purchase CrossOver licenses and support contracts from the vendor that provided you with your demo or directly from the CodeWeavers store (http://www.codeweavers.com/store/?ad=53). During purchase you will be asked to provide an email address and password. This address and password will be used to unlock your demo install.

Supported Games

World of Warcraft
Guild Wars
EVE Online
Half-Life (via CD or Steam)
Half-Life 2 and variants such as Counter-Strike (via Steam)
Team Fortress 2
Portal
Call of Duty (via Steam)
Call of Duty 2 (via Steam)
Prey (via Steam)
Day of Defeat (via Steam)

Many games that are not on the Supported list will still work just fine. For a list of such applications, visit the CodeWeavers CrossOver Compatibility Center (http://c4.codeweavers.com/?ad=53). At the compatibility center you can search for games, read about other users' experiences, and post tips and hints for other users.

Cost and Support of CrossOver Games

If your a current owner of CrossOver Office you will receive a complimentary copy of CrossOver Games (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxgames/?ad=53). If by chance you don't currently own a copy of CrossOver Office you can purchase the stand alone Games product for only $39.95 with your purchase you will receive six months of professional support through their support ticket system, you can join in the discussions that take place at the C4 compatibility center, join a mailing list, vote for your favorite game, and much more.

A purchase also goes toward helping support a full time Wine hacker! the folks at CodeWeavers have over the years given back well over 98% of all the code modifications that went into CrossOver to the Wine project.

CrossOver Games Screenshots

CrossOver Games Gnome menu entries

http://bp0.blogger.com/_PpaJ8vsrkzo/R-hmzjgkWPI/AAAAAAAABW4/9HTCANa8ryU/s400/CX-Games-1.png (http://bp0.blogger.com/_PpaJ8vsrkzo/R-hmzjgkWPI/AAAAAAAABW4/9HTCANa8ryU/s1600-h/CX-Games-1.png)

When you select "Configuration" from the menu "CrossOver Games Setup" the setup tool will start.

Read Full at Source (http://wine-review.blogspot.com/2007/07/introduction-to-crossover-games.html)



Screenshots:


http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_tf2_thumb.png (http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_tf2.png)
Team Fortress 2


http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_hl2_thumb.png (http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_hl2.png)
Half-Life 2: Episode 2


http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_eve_thumb.png (http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_eve.png)
Eve Online


http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_gw_thumb.png (http://www.codeweavers.com/images/products/shot_games_gw.png)
Guild Wars

[gary4gar]

Even with wine you can run these games?

Why pay just for improved installer?

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Even with wine you can run these games?

Why pay just for improved installer?

Well I guess it's much less hassle for recent linux converts to get back to their gaming with this than proper wine.

[axxo]

will i get the same fps as in windows here?

[praka123]

better have ur window$ in virtual env rather than these emulators! :rolleyes:

[ray|raven]

^Lolz, actually emulators work better than a virtual env , where you need to run loads of better processes.
I run CS on wine and it runs very well.
I did compile cvs cedega sometime back but coudnt get it working.

@gary,
Cedega and Crossover are better than wine for most games,
Not just for a fancy gui.

[FilledVoid]

will i get the same fps as in windows here?

No you will never get the same amount of fps you got with Windows as the game was natively built for it. You will however get a playable experience using any of these products.

[praka123]

then sorry for my lack of GK :D I havent played a game(gaming=window$?) for years(believe it or not) may be except chess :D
I should say that dual booting with ur xp is what is better than these emulators :D (and emulator wine esp is the reason why Linux doesnot have a own version gtk of picasa from google or utorrent for eg: ) :?

[ray|raven]

^Actually by trying to get picasa working properly in wine,
google made quite a few fixes, that improved wine's performance,
and were later submitted to the wine project.
And other than the look-and-feel part, picasa on wine works just like a native app. I feel its way better than f-spot.

[praka123]

But better they should've released a native port of picasa?they did with google earth though.and Linux's gaming prospect is largely hindered by the growth of wine/cedega/crossover etc :rolleyes: those game makers will never come up with a native port for Linux/BSD if these wine things are getting famous :evil:(Yes!I dont use wine,I drink only )

[ray|raven]

^I Agree, but to a certain extent only.
If it wasnt for wine / cedega , would the game developers know that even linux users play games?
IMO, its coz of wine that we are getting some native ports,
coz the game dev's know that people would play it on *nix too.

Would'nt you agree?

And , yes a native port would have been better, but personally i dont really see the difference,
Possibly due to the fact that picasa has it's own ui.

[abhinandh]

I should say that dual booting with ur xp is what is better than these emulators :D
^^+1
it is better than playing games on emulators with low FPS.

I still have XP installed on one corner of my HDD cos my little brother plays big games:p

[Cyrus_the_virus]

There is no problem with FPS's using crossover, there might be at max a slight difference of 2-5% in frame rates from a similar windows config.

And also, the response is instantaneous, there's no lag, so don't think that this is some cheap emulator with considerable underperformance.

The best in gaming on linux so far has only been managed by cedega, where you have less than 0.5-1% frame rate difference and works equally or better to a similar windows config.

[T159]

is wine an emulator ?? I doubt that
http://www.winehq.org/site/myths

Better hav dual boot XP than using wine,cedega or anything.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

is wine an emulator ?? I doubt that
http://www.winehq.org/site/myths

Better hav dual boot XP than using wine,cedega or anything.

Every product has a purpose and having a product is not the only option always.

Nothing can beat cedega on non windows gaming platforms and no emulator can beat the everincreasing functionality of emulating windows apps on linux like wine does. These products are meant for people who run only linux or want to run a windows only program without needing to reboot to windows.

It's not really meant for those who have dual boot, the whole point of having windows emulators like wine or cedega is to get rid or dual boot.

[T159]

i would like to see more n more opengl games, not the DX ones.

I tried few games but prolly my system was weak to play them.

[ray|raven]

@Cyrus
Well said.
The same can be said for my case,
I used to play CS and Ragnarok regularly and it prevented me from removing xp.
But after i managed to get both of them running on wine,
i could delete windows from my pc.

[FilledVoid]

There is no problem with FPS's using crossover, there might be at max a slight difference of 2-5% in frame rates from a similar windows config.

And also, the response is instantaneous, there's no lag, so don't think that this is some cheap emulator with considerable underperformance.

The best in gaming on linux so far has only been managed by cedega, where you have less than 0.5-1% frame rate difference and works equally or better to a similar windows config.

False. Try COD4 on Wine and you will see what Im talking about. As Cedega is a paid for service I cant try that.However you will always face Mouse Lag and no Punk Buster support which means you just lost 50% give or take a few servers in whatever you play online.

Also are there actual logged stats pointing to 2-5% or 0.5 to 1% difference in fps only cause I would appreciate the link to it and find out what version of what they are running and on what game. Also If i recall correctly Crossover is based on Wine.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

False. Try COD4 on Wine and you will see what Im talking about. As Cedega is a paid for service I cant try that.However you will always face Mouse Lag and no Punk Buster support which means you just lost 50% give or take a few servers in whatever you play online.

I was talking about crossover and not wine.;) Crossover is not entirely based on wine.

[FilledVoid]

What i'm trying to say Crossover Office is a more refined version fo WIne I geuss from what I udnerstand. I doubt that there are applications that would run in Crossover Office which would not run in Wine. An example as I tried to say above is COD4

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=3762

As they state This application currently does not install or run. We suggest you do not even try to use it until we have it labeled otherwise.

Now check http://www.filledvoid.com/2008/02/16/compiling-wine-for-ubuntu-gutsy-gibbon-64-bit/

Further on their site
Everything we do at CodeWeavers revolves around the Wine Project. Wine is the primary driving technology of our CrossOver Products, and enhancing and supporting the Wine Project is one of our key corporate goals.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Dude, there's a difference between crossover office and crossover games. Get that straight. What I meant from the previous statement incase you didn't catch it is that crossover games are developed specifically for games and enhanced for the same to avoid delays and lower frame rates unlike wine which is developed for a broader taste.

What sense are you trying to make by saying that frame rates are low by asking to try running COD to see it when the game itself is not supported yet?

Incase you need more info, refer this:
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83069

[FilledVoid]

What Im trying to say is that "Any Game made for Windows is more likely to run on Wine and even if you got it running on Crossover *, Cedega or Wine you will face LAG or performance degrade in most games unless the company actually supports it in Linux or has a client for it in Linux."

My question is Where do they say
There is no problem with FPS's using crossover, there might be at max a slight difference of 2-5% in frame rates from a similar windows config.
Or who said this and what was the test performed on ?
The best in gaming on linux so far has only been managed by cedega, where you have less than 0.5-1% frame rate difference and works equally or better to a similar windows config.

[praka123]

well,@filledvoid,you are correct.it is just assumptions that @cyrus is saying without any backing :D
cedega or crossover or wine cannot run as in a native win platform.that is simple to understand!

where each game is still needs tweaks to the settings or patches to play in wine..and same will be with cedega/winex or crossover etc

[abhinandh]

tried cedega and i installed battlefield 1942 and when i try to play it gnome crashes and i get the login screen.
cedega website says there are no problems with battlefield 1942.
that is an original copy btw.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

What Im trying to say is that "Any Game made for Windows is more likely to run on Wine and even if you got it running on Crossover *, Cedega or Wine you will face LAG or performance degrade in most games unless the company actually supports it in Linux or has a client for it in Linux."

My question is Where do they say

Or who said this and what was the test performed on ?

Dude, I know you have been trying to butt out to get COD4 working, but it doesn't mean every other game is like that.

I'll clarify, Crossover and Cedega is anyday better to run games than wine.

And as far as the performance stats are considered, those are the tests that I did myself over several games and that is the reason I'm trying to tell you this.

Stop assuming that if an unsupported game doesn't run properly, then every game has the same results.

@praka, I did not say that the games run better than on that on the native platform, all I said was that it's not as lagging as @filledvoid is making it sound, that's all. It's not a myth, try it out and you'll know.;)

[FilledVoid]

Dude, I know you have been trying to butt out to get COD4 working, but it doesn't mean every other game is like that.
Actually I think I got COD4 installed and working including network play a month or more ago.


I'll clarify, Crossover and Cedega is anyday better to run games than wine.

And as far as the performance stats are considered, those are the tests that I did myself over several games and that is the reason I'm trying to tell you this.

Stop assuming that if an unsupported game doesn't run properly, then every game has the same results.

Thats cool if you did it and only experienced a 1% lag at most. Out of curiosity which game did you run this on?
Im not trying to make Crossover Office or Cedega look like crap Im just stating what I hear everyday in the Wine , Ubuntu , Linux channels I log onto. personally I appreciate the availability of the products .

[praka123]

@abhinandh:how much is your cedega subscription :D

[T159]

@abhinandh:how much is your cedega subscription :D
the game is an original copy IMO:D

any one help me to install Silent Hill 2 on linux ??? It would be really helpful, i dont want newer games to work but this old classic must work.

When using wine the movie cutscenes just crashed the game.

[FilledVoid]

Out of curiosity hat version of Wine are you using? 9.58? Also check out this page
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=4525&iTestingId=21546

[T159]

^^many many thnx for the link:), i wasnt expecting it to be fixed so soon.
Will install in NU hrs

yep stalker is there on home page :D
I will try this one again and see if my 1 GB RAM can crunch it with french fries

[Cyrus_the_virus]

I hope this should clear some doubts that Crossover Games is a bit more optimized for games than wine.
http://wine-review.blogspot.com/2008/04/crossover-games-vs-wine-0958.html

[FilledVoid]

Very Interesting . I wish he had done a comparison with Windows as well.