I was wondering if Skyrim would be able to run off of Linux since the previous two games could run with the help of WINE. Will Skyrim be able to work with WINE as well?

I don't think anyone will know that until the game is released and people can try it with WINE for themselves. I very much doubt that the Bethesda playtesters spend time with it.

Would be nice to have a proper native Linux port. But in absence of that, I don't doubt Skyrim will be able to run using Wine... it may take a couple weeks or months, and maybe not have the kind of performance you'd get natively, but it will eventually work and be playable.

Yep, I play it every day on my PC with Linux. Runs great.

It may run with Wine, but it will not be supported, which means it will always be a huge buggy pain.

...Why not set your PC up to dual-boot? That's what I did with my Mac instead of messing around with ports etc., and it has worked out very well for my gaming habit. It was free to me, since a friend had a legit and unused copy of Windows XP, but you can do the same for less than $100, methinks.

Dual-booting is a pain. Have to shut down everything you're doing, reboot, load Windows, play the game. Then when you're done, reboot again, load your original OS, and restart apps back up. If the machine is connected to the internet, you need to take the time to keep Windows patched and updated, too. If you're interested in modding? Heh, have fun...

I want it on the Macintosh! Along with the editor!

:rofl:

I'd suggest this

It's probably the best option if all you have is your computer to play it and or if you want the mods


As opposed to not having the game? If the OP said he had a console (and he very well may) I'd suggest that. If he wants mods etc. then I'd say dual booting is the best option.

If there isn't a native Linux version (which there likely won't be, but we can always ask and hope), then you have Wine (or CrossOver, or Cedega..). Some virtualization software can get pretty decent performance with Direct3D, too. Dual-booting is not the only option to be able to play it on Linux if it's not officially supported.

Has Linux seriously become user friendly enough that dual booting and auto-updating Windows is considered more of a pain than just jumping through the user-unfriendly hoops of just plain using Linux for every day use?

I tried out Linux once and while I'm sure I could have gotten used to it, both GUI options felt like some unholy combination of a text only DOS shell and Windows 3.11 in terms of features. It must have come a long way since then.

Hopefully Wine works for the topic creator and others. I'm surprised to hear Linux has progressed so much. I guess it makes sense since Windows has been moving towards the a more secure design model. It follows that Linux, which already used a secure design, has distributions moving towards more general usability.

It depends on the user on whether or not it's user-friendly. I switched to Linux almost 10 years ago because I found it infinitely easier and more comfortable to do what I wanted to. I've never looked back or ever wished I still had Windows.

Part of the issue with Linux is that it's simply "not Windows". Some things work differently, or are in different places. Assumptions you could make with Windows may no longer be true, and vice-versa. If you're someone who is very used to how Windows works and aren't able to invest time in learning how to use Linux, it can be difficult to adjust. The reverse is also true -- if you're brought up on Linux, it can be difficult to adjust to Windows (being as used to Linux as I am, I actually find it a bit difficult to navigate and do stuff in Windows these days).

What's been happening lately, though, is that we're seeing Windows move to a multi-user setup (user accounts, permissions, etc) for security reasons, which helps familiarize people with the way things have always worked in the Linux/Unix world. Also, Linux distros are taking an interest in easing the "culture shock" of using Linux compared to Windows (eg, more GUI apps and less relience on the, otherwise very powerful, command-line). Hardware support has been improving too, to the point where any given piece of hardware is more likely to work than not.

Wine/CrossOver/Cedega have also been steadilly improving, which helps people retain their must-have Windows apps and games that don't have a Linux equivalent.

I'd vote for dual-boot, as others have suggested. But vmware workstation would be worth a try. I think it's free for single user. I doubt that kvm is ready for this yet.

In regards to the ease of use of linux vs windows: about 4 years ago I set up my roommate and his gf with 2 computers, 1 of each. Both people were totally computer illiterate, and I don't think they could tell the difference. It was Linux Mint.

Hmm, except when upgrading the windows version (XP SP2 to SP3), I've yet to encounter an update that took more than 10 minutes, and I didn't have to do anything. Not to mention that it *should* take you a minute or less to boot up your pc and start playing, so if that's too much of a pain to you, you are really impatient... Even weirder is that you are actually thinking in having all the trouble waiting for a port and make it work when a simpler solution is at hand.

I currently dual boot XP for some games as well, although lately i've been sort of discovering many great indie games that have native linux ports. (Shadowgrounds and the sequel, Trine, Steel Storm)

Todd said in an interview that Direct X 11 is used to some extent. Wine hardly supports anything newer than DX 9, and even that's a bit choppy. It'll be a long while before they get proper DX 11 support.

So there we are. Apparently i'm forced to buy Windows 7 to get the most out of Skyrim. Last i checked, Win 7 home premium (i think that's the least one that includes DX11) sold at around 150 euros. If Skyrim is around 50euros, that'll be about 200 euros in my case. I'd much rather pay even around 70 - 80 euros for a native linux port.

I asked about it in one of the fan interview topics. Hopefully the plea would reach it's intended targets, even though i don't think BGS cares about this particular topic.

10 minutes you wouldn't otherwise have to take.


You have to shut down everything first, which can also take a minute. Then after you're done playing, you have to reboot and get everything restarted again. You also can't have your Linux stuff running with Windows going.

Considering that I do not like Windows (I use Linux for a reason), yeah, it is an unnecessary hassle.


Not waiting for a port, but waiting for Wine to support it. If it doesn't work under Wine (it very well may work on day 1 if it's going to support D3D9. or heaven forbid OpenGL), then it won't take all that long. The wait is a small price to pay for being able to use my preferred OS, and not have the extra expense of buying and maintaining Windows. In addition, for me personally, I do some coding with Wine and enjoy it. So if it doesn't work, it actually gives me something to do besides wait.

Plus, using and coding for Wine affords me some unique insight into things. Thanks to what I've learned, I've been able to restore 3D surround sound to Oblivion, with no special audio hardware required. I also have EAX working, again with no special audio hardware. This means my 5.1 speaker setup, along with mods like http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=32128, can fully work with Oblivion under Linux. If I just went with the "simpler" solution, I'd still be stuck with flat stereo sound, and I wouldn't be close to releasing something for even Windows users to get it all working.

I think it's pretty likely that Skyrim will support DX9, too. It's not like a DX11 renderer prevents them from having a DX9 renderer, too.

I never said Linux was a bad OS. Hell, I like Linux and use it for all my programming needs. It supports an unholy amount of languages, some of them needed in my course. But you know what, I also have OS X and Windows 7 on my pc. Yes, three partitions is hell, but who cares? My windows is awesome for gaming and 3d rendering, and OS X, well, ya know, iLife and all...

Making yourself limited to one OS is unwise, especially when you can use all other OS's at what they do best,

Oh, and running background applications when playing Skyrim? I say heresy, this games deserves nothing less than your maximum memory.

Never said you did. What I'm getting at, though, is that dual-booting isn't always the best option. If a person doesn't have a copy Windows, it may not even be an option.


Knowing my system, I just may have to shut down the majority of background apps. Though it doesn't always have to be that way (Morrowind runs fine with stuff in the background, and Oblivion runs fine with some stuff, too; helpful if you need to switch and check something else while playing). I do try to keep at least my IM client on, though, just in case someone has to contact me with something important.

It's interesting hearing about Linux like that. When I think "Linux" I think of Solaris UNIX machines I used years ago at school that felt like I was using computers from the 1980s. I didn't really consider that Linux is improving all the same as Windows improves (not to mention the fact I was thinking of Unix). It's funny that most of the improvements in Windows involve it becoming more like Linux/Unix than in the past though.


It needs no more than the resources it needs to run well. I know you weren't being totally serious though.