Linux Games

[seeker]

When I recently asked about enabling 3D hardware accelleration in Linux, I was told that it was already enabled, regardless of the fact that Linux said that it wasn't. However, I'm unable to play any of the action games that come with SuSe 9.2 because they also say that the 3D accelleration is disabled. The frame rates are too slow for the games to work properly, and the suggestions given by the games to solve this do not help. What do I have to do to make these work?

[netllama]

Please generate and post a bug report, along with the output from 'glxinfo'.

Thanks,
Lonni

[seeker]

I don't understand what you mean by "generate" a bug report. However, this is the output that I got from glxinfo:

wallwalker@linux:~> glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: No
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGI_make_current_read,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
client glx vendor string: SGI
client glx version string: 1.4
client glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_allocate_memory,
GLX_MESA_swap_control, GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method,
GLX_OML_sync_control, GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGI_swap_control,
GLX_SGI_video_sync, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig,
GLX_SGIX_pbuffer, GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group
GLX extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_OML_swap_method,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: www.mesa3d.org
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.2 (1.5 Mesa 6.1)
OpenGL extensions:
GL_ARB_depth_texture, GL_ARB_imaging, GL_ARB_multitexture,
GL_ARB_point_parameters, GL_ARB_point_sprite, GL_ARB_shadow,
GL_ARB_shadow_ambient, GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp,
GL_ARB_texture_cube_map, GL_ARB_texture_env_add,
GL_ARB_texture_env_combine, GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar,
GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3, GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat,
GL_ARB_transpose_matrix, GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra,
GL_EXT_blend_color, GL_EXT_blend_func_separate, GL_EXT_blend_logic_op,
GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract, GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint,
GL_EXT_copy_texture, GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord,
GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays, GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
GL_EXT_polygon_offset, GL_EXT_rescale_normal, GL_EXT_secondary_color,
GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, GL_EXT_shadow_funcs,
GL_EXT_stencil_two_side, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap, GL_EXT_subtexture,
GL_EXT_texture, GL_EXT_texture3D, GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_EXT_texture_env_add, GL_EXT_texture_env_combine,
GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3, GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias, GL_EXT_texture_object,
GL_EXT_texture_rectangle, GL_EXT_vertex_array, GL_APPLE_packed_pixels,
GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3, GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once,
GL_ATIX_texture_env_combine3, GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat,
GL_INGR_blend_func_separate, GL_MESA_pack_invert, GL_MESA_ycbcr_texture,
GL_NV_blend_square, GL_NV_point_sprite, GL_NV_texgen_reflection,
GL_NV_texture_rectangle, GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap,
GL_SGIS_texture_border_clamp, GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_SGIS_texture_lod, GL_SGIX_depth_texture, GL_SGIX_shadow,
GL_SGIX_shadow_ambient, GL_SUN_multi_draw_arrays
glu version: 1.3
glu extensions:
GLU_EXT_nurbs_tessellator, GLU_EXT_object_space_tess

visual x bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer ms cav
id dep cl sp sz l ci b ro r g b a bf th cl r g b a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
0x22 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x23 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 None
0x24 16 tc 0 24 0 r y . 5 6 5 8 0 16 8 16 16 16 16 0 0 None
0x25 16 tc 0 24 0 r . . 5 6 5 8 0 16 8 16 16 16 16 0 0 None
wallwalker@linux:~>

[netllama]

Based on your glxinfo output:
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2

you're not using the nvidia driver's GLX. Either the driver is not installed, or is not correctly installed.

See here:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46678

Thanks,
Lonni

[seeker]

I tried running nvidia-bug-report.sh and nothing happened. I'm assuming that this means that the driver did not install. I ran the SuSe update, for the Nvidia driver, but I saw something about fetchnvidia.sh, but it only lasted for seconds and obviously was not enough time to download a driver. I suspect that this was just a patch rather than the driver itself. So how do I get the driver, from the Nvidia website?

[netllama]

I'm afraid that I don't understand what you mean by "I tried running nvidia-bug-report.sh and nothing happened". Was there an error? Did it just silently fail to generate a bug report?

The NVIDIA driver is always available from NVIDIA's website.

-Lonni

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Originally Posted by netllama

I'm afraid that I don't understand what you mean by "I tried running nvidia-bug-report.sh and nothing happened". Was there an error? Did it just silently fail to generate a bug report?

The NVIDIA driver is always available from NVIDIA's website.

-Lonni

Yes, the latter. Silent without any error.

I took a look at the Nvidia website, but the instructions for SuSe recommended using YaST Online Updates, to prevent needing to rebuild the kernel, which I'm totally unprepared for. I tried running YOU again, with the "reload all patches" checked, and found the driver and let it go through the installation procedure, but glxinfo said the same thing. After reading the Nvidia instructions on the update, I thought that I had done it wrong, and ran YOU again, the same way, but this time the driver did not appear in the list. At this point, I don't know what got installed.

[netllama]

If you're having problems with YOU, then you should contact SuSE for assistance with their software.

I'm afraid that I don't understand why you'd need to rebuild a kernel to install the nvidia driver. That has never been a requirement.

Have you tried installing the official NVIDIA driver package from NVIDIA's website, per the instructions in the README (not the SuSE specific instructions)?

Thanks,
-Lonni

[seeker]

Originally Posted by netllama

If you're having problems with YOU, then you should contact SuSE for assistance with their software.

You are right, but when I have done so in the past, I never found them to be of much use. This was due mostly to myself though, because I'm still in the early learning stages with Linux, and techs too often make too many assumptions about what I do or do not understand, and it ends up with me going in circle.

I'm afraid that I don't understand why you'd need to rebuild a kernel to install the nvidia driver. That has never been a requirement.

Have you tried installing the official NVIDIA driver package from NVIDIA's website, per the instructions in the README (not the SuSE specific instructions)?

No, I haven't tried any nonSuSe specific procedures, because of the mention of the kernel, and that was on the Nvidia website, not SuSe.

[netllama]

The only kernel related requirement from NVIDIA is that you have the source or at least the headers for the kernel that you're using, installed. SuSE includes a kernel-source RPM with all of their distributions.

-Lonni

[seeker]

Yes, you are correct, I had misread it. I have downloaded the driver, and I think that I understand how to proceed, but one question remains. Since I am afraid to reboot now, to get to runlevel3, I was wondering about using the init 3 command. I assume that this is similar to switching users, and it works without rebooting. This is new territory for me, because I have never used it before. Will this runlevel give me a graphical environment, or is it something like DOS in Windows? I would normally just experiment, but right now, I have another problem to contend with and am afraid of doing anything to force me to reboot.

[netllama]

Runlevel 3 is without X, which is what is required to install the NVIDIA driver. 'init 3' will switch to run level 3.

-Lonni