working under Linux. Thankfully, since ATI (one of the major graphics card vendors) was bought up by AMD, they have released a true open source driver that is available to install under Fedora. NVIDIA also supports Linux, albeit by using closed source drivers. This means that Fedora does not ship with native 3D drivers for NVIDIA cards. It is fairly easy to get hold of the driver and install it; the Livna.org site has RPMs that are ready and waiting to be installed using yum.
Installing Proprietary Video Drivers
Fedora does not provide the official NVIDIA or ATI display drivers because they are closed source and Fedora is committed to delivering a totally free (as in speech) distribution. You can download the latest official drivers from http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux.html or from http://www.ati.com/. If you encounter problems with the NVIDIA drivers in particular, check out http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14 for more help. The NVIDIA staff do contribute to that forum, so you should be able to find expert help when you need it.
Bear in mind that if you go down the 'official' route, you will have to take certain steps. It would be great to be able to access the drivers through yum, so much so that the Livna repository now has prepackaged the drivers into an RPM that is easily downloaded as long as you have the Livna repository enabled for yum.
The Livna repository is home to not only a wide range of kernel modules and drivers for many popular items of hardware, but also contains a number of legally question able packages that are not enabled in Fedora by default, including native MP3 support. If you are using Fedora for personal use, you should not have any real problems, but make sure to check before you start installing packages from Livna onto a corporate workstation or server!
To get the NVIDIA driver using yum, you need to have enabled the Livna repository (see Chapter 34, 'Advanced Software Management,' for more information on setting up repositories). At the command line, type
#yum install kmod-nvidia
and press Enter. After a few seconds, yum retrieves and downloads the latest NVIDIA driver that is appropriate for your current kernel version. After it finishes installing the packages, you have to restart your machine to take advantage of the improvements.
Installing the ATI driver is much the same because Livna.org also has a set of drivers available for ATI hardware. As with the NVIDIA driver, you need to be a super user and enter the following command:
#yum install kmod-fglrx
A restart of the system is necessary before you can make full use of the 3D capabilities of your card.
Both sets of graphics card drivers are very dependent on the kernel version you are running. Every time you update your kernel, you also have to update your driver. If you have used the kmod-* package from Livna, it should automatically update when you run yum upgrade.
Installing Popular Games in Fedora
It's a common misconception that Linux doesn't do games. In fact, that assumption is very wrong, as you are about to see. In this section, we walk through how to install five popular games that you can play within Fedora. Make sure that you have followed the earlier instructions on how to install graphics drivers for your graphics card; otherwise, you are likely to struggle with the likes of Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Quake 4.
DOOM 3
The follow-up to the infamous Doom and Doom II was released in the second half of 2004 (see Figure 9.2), and it provides a way to run it under Linux. You still have to purchase the Windows version because you need some of the files that are on the CDs. The rest of the files are available from id Software at http://zerowing.idsoftware.com/linux/doom.
FIGURE 9.2 Descending into the pits of hell. Doom 3 is one of the most graphic computer games available.
You can download the file doom3-linux-1.1.1282.x86.run from the id Software FTP server or by using BitTorrent. When that's finished, open a terminal and change to the directory in which you saved the file. Type the following command:
# sh doom3-linux-1.1.1282.x86.run
This begins the installation of the demo. As with other commercial games, you must agree to a EULA before you can install. Follow the installation procedure, and when it finishes you need to get the Windows CDs ready.
You need to copy across the following files:
> pak000.pk4
> pak001.pk4
> pak002.pk4
> pak003.pk4
> pak004.pk4
They must be saved in the /usr/local/games/doom3/base/ directory. After you copy the files, you can start the game by typing doom3 or start the dedicated server for multiplayer games by typing doom3-dedicated.
Unreal Tournament 2004
Unreal Tournament 2004 (or
FIGURE 9.3 Unreal Tournament 2004 builds on the classic death-match scenario with more enemies and more combatants.
Installation is easy, and there are two ways to do it. You can insert the DVD and mount it, or you can open the DVD in GNOME and double-click the linux-installer.sh icon. When you are asked whether you want to run it or display its contents, click Run in
Terminal to launch the graphical installer. As with Doom 3, you must read and accept the terms of the EULA before you are allowed to install UT2004. You are given the option of where you want to install the software;
