I recently did a review of Ultimate Edition 2.8, a very large derivative of Ubuntu. Ultimate Edition 2.8 comes in more than one flavor though and this week I decided to take a look at Ultimate Edition 2.8 Gamers. Linux is not famous for gaming; gaming has actually been the Achilles heel of Linux. Ultimate Edition 2.8 Gamers strives to make gaming a bit more visible and accessible in Linux.
Before I get into the quick look, please note that since the emphasis is on gaming the UE developers have removed some of the software more commonly found in the regular version of Ultimate Edition. For example, OpenOffice.org is not included by default when you boot into your UE 2.8 Gamers desktop. It is, of course, still available for download so you can easily add it to your desktop if you want.
Desktop
What’s New
As with the regular edition of Ultimate Edition 2.8, I was not able to find a definitive list of what’s new. Here’s what I was able to find for the regular edition and for the gamers version.
Regular version:
What is Ultimate Edition 2.8? Ultimate Edition was built off Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. All updates fully updated / upgraded. The software you have came to love with previous editions of Ultimate Edition have been also pre-installed along with 12 new ones. I must apologise at time of build Cinelerra & wine doors were currently broken and did not make the cut.
I also want to apologise for the delay and at the same time thank my admin for the delay of Ultimate Edition 2.8?s release. Many issues have been squashed in 2.8 because of the delay. I do want to give a shout out to JohnnyG. Many were cosmetic, he has a real eye for detail and breaking things down to a programmers level. Thanks again JohnnyG. Cowboy’s handiwork at the theme has won the poll and will be deemed “Cowboy Blue”. This is not the end of the thanks that need to be dropped simply the tip of the iceberg. I would be chatter boxing all day to give the kudos where they lie. No, I do not do everything. Don’t like the blue theme? There are 107 themes to choose from, it does not have to be dark.
I have included a now enhanced, color and font selectable Conky script I wrote that will generate as per computer. The results of running the Conky script can be seen at the right. This script will be in your home folder when installed (your choice to run it or not). The script is commented if you wish to learn.
Gamers version:
Ultimate Edition 2.8 Gamers is unlike any other gamers edition built in the past. Beyond the updates / upgrades many tools have been ripped out of Ultimate Edition 2.8 (the base of the release), prior to build to maximize room for additional games. In Ultimate Edition 2.8 Gamers you will not find Openoffice, we are here to play games right? This does not mean you will not have a media player, just the very basics & a vast quantity of high quality games. Hand picked by bnjamin_breeg & I. The newest PlayOnLinux (at time of build) is also included to allow installation of ® Windows based games and applications as seen above.
System Requirements
As I noted in the other review, I could not find a definitive list of system requirements. Here are the ones for generic Ubuntu:
700 MHz x86 processor
256 MB RAM
3 GB disk space
Graphics card capable of 1024 x 768 resolution
Sound card
Network or Internet connection
I strongly recommend that you have at least 1 GB of RAM and 10GB of hard disk space (as well as a good video card) for this distro.
Install
The install is very easy and quick. UE 2.8 Gamers uses a customized version of the Ubuntu installer. It’s slick and you can watch a customized Ultimate Edition slideshow while your install completes.
Install 1
Install 2
Install 3
On the next page, I’ll cover the software & games included and I’ll share my final thoughts about this distro.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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Who the hell makes the art decisions? This is one of the ugliest themes Ive ever seen. Fucking Windows98 looks better out of the box.
“Who the hell makes the art decisions? This is one of the ugliest themes Ive ever seen. Fucking Windows98 looks better out of the box.”
Its not a great wallpaper but that is all it is plus a blue theme. Nothing to get your panties in a twist about. Anyone into gaming is likely bright enough to change it and probably will in the first fives minutes they aren’t actually spending playing games.
“Linux is not famous for gaming; gaming has actually been the Achilles heel of Linux.”
Linux does just fine for gaming and as this distribution clearly proves Linux not only has a large number of native games but can potentially support a huge number of Windows based games as well. Combine that with all of it being free and better security and you realize how much of a myth the “Linux is not famous for gaming” really is.
With as much as is available I can’t understand why anyone would even believe that. That is way more than I can play in my short lifespan. http://eyeonlinux.com/wp-content/plugins/smilies-themer/Nomicons%20v2.0/w00t.png
@lpbbear – I think it is more of a matter of “Linux doesn’t play mainstream games well (or at all in quite a few cases)”
I enjoy many of the games that have native linux clients, e.g. Battle for Wesnoth, Penumbra, World of Goo. And I can play some more “Mainstream” games on linux with WINE e.g. EVEonline (works better on windows), Team Fortress 2. However there are MANY games I play on my dual booted windows, which have serious problems in WINE/no linux port. e.g. Bad Company 2, most can’t even get it working, and those that have report that the textures are so screwy that it’s impossible to play.
When it comes to gaming in general I believe that the statement “Linux is not famous for gaming; gaming has actually been the Achilles heel of Linux.” holds true. Although you could change it to “Linux is not famous for gaming; gaming has actually been the Achilles heel of Linux. Except for some indie games and a relatively short list of major studio developed games that run well in WINE”
Hi Solomon,
I think that UE tends to be a “love it or hate it” type of distro in many ways, including the visual design. It’s definitely a bit different than other distros, but that sort of fits in with the “Ultra” theme & name.
[...] can check out the review of Ultimate Edition 2.8 gamers here. There is also a video based review Thanks, [...]
The design in ultimate really is something else… Of couse it is a matter of taste. But … it just catches my eye and makes me grin all over … So straigtforward … I agree it is “ultimate”
That makes no sense whatsoever. Why have Shotwell, and F-Spot (Neither of which are worth the time it took to download them, Gthumb is 1000 times better than both combined), and Empathy + Pidgin?
“Who the hell makes the art decisions? This is one of the ugliest themes Ive ever seen. Fucking Windows98 looks better out of the box.” I totally agree. I have been using UE since version 2.2 and the very first thing I do is change the theme and wallpaper. Small price to pay for such an awesome distribution if you are too lazy like me to go apt-get everything you use after an install.
Have to admit I never tried the gamer version as I too, was under the impression Linux did not game well. Downloading UE gamer edition as I type. We’ll see.
Good article and informative web site.
to all those Windows die hard people…I wish you well with the continuing viruses that are out or coming out. I’m satisfied with my Ubuntu and I’ve never been infected!!!!http://eyeonlinux.com/wp-content/plugins/smilies-themer/Nomicons%20v2.0/cool.png
yeah,I just thought you may possibly wish to realize that your weblog is messed up when you view it on my iphone. I?m not positive if it’s something to do with my telephone?s browser or your web site? just declaring…
I am the leading developer of the Ultimate Edition series of operating systems. The theme (103 included) is easily changed.
The theme as I too did not much care for was voted to be the default by the users of the forum. I work for the users, thus as it was voted became the default theme.
[...] There is a distro especially for gamers "Ultimate Edition 3.0", here is an exhaustive review of that distro (2.8 version) which gives complete details of what is included and also gives [...]