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Thanks to the magic of DOSBox, Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 are now available for Linux direct from game store GOG. They come as part of a bundle "Earthworm Jim 1+2: The Whole Can 'O Worms".

As usual, our friendly GOG contacts sent over a copy for me to test out. They come as seperate downloads, but each has the GOG installer powered by MojoSetup. Naturally, they come with DOSBox pre-configured so playing these classics is easy on Linux.

I actually played the original on the Sega Megadrive at a friends house when I was younger, I remember being mesmerised by it at the time. This sure brought back some memories! For those that never played it, it's a run and gun action platformer that was originally released in 1994, with the sequel releasing in 1995.

After testing both, I couldn't find any issues. They worked perfectly, super smooth as expected from a classic title.

I still love the fact that GOG keep classic games alive like this, it's vitally important we don't lose access to some true classics.

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cRaZy-bisCuiT Nov 24, 2017
I'd buy them if GOG wouldn't charge 10 €. WTF is wrong with them? Packing old DOS games in a Dosbox requires not too much skill. Why would you buy it for a price like this? :'(


Last edited by cRaZy-bisCuiT on 24 November 2017 at 2:32 am UTC
Hamish Nov 24, 2017
Quoting: cRaZy-bisCuiTI'd buy them if GOG wouldn't charge 10 €. WTF is wrong with them? Packing old DOS games in a Dosbox requires not too much skill. Why would you buy it for a price like this? :'(

I don't think it is GOG.com so much in this case but Interplay themselves insisting on that price. You look at other games in their library and they are charging the same.
Eike Nov 24, 2017
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Quoting: cRaZy-bisCuiTI'd buy them if GOG wouldn't charge 10 €. WTF is wrong with them? Packing old DOS games in a Dosbox requires not too much skill. Why would you buy it for a price like this? :'(

Well, if it holds true that it's still unrivaled...
linuxvangog Nov 24, 2017
Quoting: pbCould your friendly GOG contacts tell us when they plan to release Galaxy client for Linux? I have hundreds of games on GOG (Earthworm Jims included) and it's a real hassle to manage them, and that's ignoring all the extra content that comes with them (soundtracks, manuals, codewheels etc.).
Hello pb, linuxvangog from GOG here.

We are not actively working on the Linux version of the Galaxy client as it is currently not our foremost priority and we have to put our limited resources to other upcoming features.

We know that this issue is very important for Linux part of GOG community. We will let you know if something changes.
Eike Nov 24, 2017
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Quoting: linuxvangogHello pb, linuxvangog from GOG here.

We are not actively working on the Linux version of the Galaxy client as it is currently not our foremost priority and we have to put our limited resources to other upcoming features.

We know that this issue is very important for Linux part of GOG community. We will let you know if something changes.

I appreciate you're communicating it openly.
My feeling is we cannot expect full support for everything as we are a small group.
Other user's feeling will vary, though. :)
pb Nov 24, 2017
Quoting: Hamish
Quoting: cRaZy-bisCuiTI'd buy them if GOG wouldn't charge 10 €. WTF is wrong with them? Packing old DOS games in a Dosbox requires not too much skill. Why would you buy it for a price like this? :'(

I don't think it is GOG.com so much in this case but Interplay themselves insisting on that price. You look at other games in their library and they are charging the same.

That is correct, prices for the whole Interplay catalogue went up some time ago, most games, including Earthworm Jim, used to be 5.99 iirc - and frequently on sale.
Cyba.Cowboy Nov 24, 2017
This is great and all, but I'm still waiting for the "Wolfenstein" and "Doom" sagas to be made available for Linux-based operating systems on GOG.com... All those wonderful games are sitting on my "wish" list, just waiting for purchase, GOG.com!

I will be picking-up this package (the Earthworm Jim package) as soon as I can though, because I'm old enough to remember when these games originally came out and Earthworm Jim is awesome.


Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 24 November 2017 at 11:37 pm UTC
Hamish Nov 25, 2017
Quoting: Cyba.CowboyThis is great and all, but I'm still waiting for the "Wolfenstein" and "Doom" sagas to be made available for Linux-based operating systems on GOG.com... All those wonderful games are sitting on my "wish" list, just waiting for purchase, GOG.com!
If you are holding off in the hope that you can make your purchase count as a Linux sale that is fair enough, but if all you want to do is actually play Doom or Wolfenstein 3D on Linux you would be far better off using any number of source ports than a DOSBox wrapper. Even stick in the mud purists like myself have Chocolate Doom.
slaapliedje Nov 25, 2017
Quoting: TcheyEarthworm Jim 1&2 are one of my best memories of game of Sega Genesis / Megadrive, along with Lost Vikings. I never found any game close to Lost Vikings gameplay until today, by the way.

That's so... something... Shame ? Frustration ? Sadness ? Despair ?

I think the closest to Lost Vikings is the Trine trilogy. Excellent games.
slaapliedje Nov 25, 2017
Quoting: Hamish
Quoting: Cyba.CowboyThis is great and all, but I'm still waiting for the "Wolfenstein" and "Doom" sagas to be made available for Linux-based operating systems on GOG.com... All those wonderful games are sitting on my "wish" list, just waiting for purchase, GOG.com!
If you are holding off in the hope that you can make your purchase count as a Linux sale that is fair enough, but if all you want to do is actually play Doom or Wolfenstein 3D on Linux you would be far better off using any number of source ports than a DOSBox wrapper. Even stick in the mud purists like myself have Chocolate Doom.

I think the best idea would be if GoG (or even Steam) could get permission to sell the Linux native versions of these. There are many different source ports, but I think a good many of them (especially Doom 3) had a proper port released by id.
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