Descent 3 returns to Linux (and macOS) with an official modern port

This is cool! I am looking at the Loki Descent 3 CD on my shelf from time to time. I tried installing it some time ago and it failed miserably ;-)

Thank you Ryan for porting it again! (and all you other lifetime achievements for the penguin, of course!)

Mine is just a regular CD, not a loki one, I had to download the Linux installer. It's been a few years since I tried it but I didn't have too hard a time getting it to work. IIRC the biggest issue I had was trying to get 1024x768 or whatever the maximum resolution was to work properly. I may have had to run it in a window.

But this is great news! 64 bit, higher resolution, support for modern machines - yay!

Does anyone know if there's an installer for people who own the CD? Or do I have to buy it again (which means waiting until it's available on a non-steam store)?

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant an installer for this new version. I'm pretty sure I still have the old one sitting around in my archive :)

Next stop, VR support? :)

I hope the rest of Loki's catalogue can make a comeback.

Already had it. Steam is telling me it's a 977MB install? Still? Even after the full port?

Also, any chance Freespace 1&2 are next?


Last edited by jarhead_h on 2 February 2020 at 12:19 am UTC

Would love to see achievements added (just not any ridiculous ones that require crazy grinding game play or straight up luck to get)!

I literally just got the Loki version of this on disk delivered last Friday:

[url=https://postimg.cc/2VBM6NMd][/url]

This is hilarious, especially if the port does come to GOG.com meaning I never have to use the disk.


Last edited by Hamish on 2 February 2020 at 7:52 am UTC

i have a copy on GOG but its windows only right now but i can still play it either way seeing all 3 games work fine in linux through lutris.

Looking at his post, doesn't sound like Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns will be happening any time soon because whoever made it dropped out of the space-time continuum. Pity; I know it wasn't a big or important game, but I liked it--probably because I didn't have access to any of the Windows games that were similar but better, I suppose.
Now what I'd really like to see is this treatment done to Alpha Centauri. Every time I go back to my old Loki CD of that, it takes a bit more fiddling to get it working (and last time I still couldn't get sound). I suppose it probably works under Wine/Proton these days, but somehow I really don't want to buy a Windows copy of a game I bought for Linux just to get it to run on Linux.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 2 February 2020 at 6:12 pm UTC

Like Patola said, this was done as one of Ryan's Patreon projects. If you want to support his work then you can do so by giving to him directly.

Looking at his post, doesn't sound like Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns will be happening any time soon because whoever made it dropped out of the space-time continuum. Pity; I know it wasn't a big or important game, but I liked it--probably because I didn't have access to any of the Windows games that were similar but better, I suppose.
Now what I'd really like to see is this treatment done to Alpha Centauri. Every time I go back to my old Loki CD of that, it takes a bit more fiddling to get it working (and last time I still couldn't get sound). I suppose it probably works under Wine/Proton these days, but somehow I really don't want to buy a Windows copy of a game I bought for Linux just to get it to run on Linux.

I haven't really gotten around to play it, but isn't 'Beyond Earth' supposed to be similar to Alpha Centauri?

Like Patola said, this was done as one of Ryan's Patreon projects. If you want to support his work then you can do so by giving to him directly.

Yeah, I thought Ryan put it out there a few years ago that he was asking for people to suggest ports, and for giving money to his patreon.

Wonder how much work was actually needed from the original port, or if this was a completely new / remade port.

Der Linux Port ist eine Frechheit, wo steht hier auf der Shop Seite das es sich um eine unspielbare Beta Version handelt ???? Es Crasht oft, zusätzlich gingen meine Savegames kaputt usw... Videos sehen viel schlechter aus. Demos aufnehmen und ansehen Crash...


The Linux port is a cheek, where is it here on the Steam shop page that it is an unplayable beta version ???? It crashes often, my savegames also broke, etc. ... Videos look much worse. Record and watch demos Crash ...

Is this open source? I think the engine for Descent one and two is open sourced, and I'm wondering if they did the same for three.

Looking at his post, doesn't sound like Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns will be happening any time soon because whoever made it dropped out of the space-time continuum. Pity; I know it wasn't a big or important game, but I liked it--probably because I didn't have access to any of the Windows games that were similar but better, I suppose.
Now what I'd really like to see is this treatment done to Alpha Centauri. Every time I go back to my old Loki CD of that, it takes a bit more fiddling to get it working (and last time I still couldn't get sound). I suppose it probably works under Wine/Proton these days, but somehow I really don't want to buy a Windows copy of a game I bought for Linux just to get it to run on Linux.

I haven't really gotten around to play it, but isn't 'Beyond Earth' supposed to be similar to Alpha Centauri?

Yes, well. Civ: BE is not bad. And it's newer and more modern and stuff.
And it has this thing that looks like it ought to be cooler than Alpha C's different government types--these three different sort of ideological attitudes towards colonization and relationship to the planet and technology. All the technologies have an affinity to one of these three, so depending on your tech emphasis you'll get more levels of them and that'll give you perks. Actually, a lot of the power of combat units comes more from progression in the three affinities than from specific tech developments. But I mean . . . you can do them all, and why wouldn't you? So there's no real choice happening. The technology web isn't that huge; by the end of the game I'm usually pretty maxed in all three so it doesn't matter much. And the factions are a bit like that--their differences are a bit more genuinely futuristic or at least different, but what that gains in science-fiction-y-ness it loses in wimping out. Alpha Centauri's factions and government systems confronted real social and political issues and differences, and they also required choices; if you take the advantages of a Free Market or Green economy, you gotta live with the disadvantages, you can't have both at the same time.

Oh yeah, technologies go out in a circle from the centre to the edge instead of up a tree, which looks cool but makes almost zero difference. Seriously, you could fold it into a tree without changing anything in terms of which techs lead to what.

There are some nice touches. Floating cities can actually move, getting access to more resources. Aside from that, it's Civ 5 with higher tech and weirder strategic resources. I like Alpha Centauri much better; can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe something about how the gameplay and pace work that's not obvious in the surface mechanics, maybe I like the way in Alpha C, vehicle technologies separate chassis from what you put in it so you can customize a bit, maybe it's the factions and governments . . . dunno, but Alpha C is a classic to me and Civ:BE is . . . decent.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 3 February 2020 at 10:10 pm UTC

Bought it, seems to run just as well as you'd expect for a game this old...

I remember trying the Loki demo back in 02... I had to disable multitexturing for my original Radeon 32 ddr for the game to render properly so I'd say this already gives a better experience now than it did way back when.

Haven't tried to get a controller going yet.

Is this open source? I think the engine for Descent one and two is open sourced, and I'm wondering if they did the same for three.

Not sure about Descent 3, but Freespace 2 is open source, and I thought the actual game was kind of under a 'DGAF' license, where they don't care if people distrinute it.
So there are TONS of mods for it.

I could never really play the descent games as they used to make me hurl. Really wanted to dive into foresaken as well, but same issue. But now I am a bit better with VR and Elite, so surely I should be able to handle Descent now...

I could never really play the descent games as they used to make me hurl. Really wanted to dive into foresaken as well, but same issue. But now I am a bit better with VR and Elite, so surely I should be able to handle Descent now...

And once you can handle those, continue with Overload. It is absolutely worth training hard for it

Yeah! I actually to play that one. Though now I can't remember if it was that one or the other semi-recent Descent style game that I backed on kickstarter, then haven't had time to play...

I'm very disappointed with this game.

There is no mention on the Steam Store that this is a beta version!

There is a serious (known) bug in the game that corrupts a save file if you play a level for more than a few minutes:

bugzilla

This makes the game virtually un-playable.

How can Steam sell a game in this state?