Why do christian clans never support foss games?

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Danfun64

New Member
It might be likely that toj would listen to my request, as ut3 is pretty faced paced, but anyways... Why is it that there are no christian clans that support linux fps gaming, or free fps games at all for that matter. I was wondering if you could include Nexuiz (soon to become Xonotic, no relation to this copycat piece of name-stealing crap) to the roster of toj servers. At least test the game out. Although I run windows myself, there is a whole community of gamers that don't have any christian clan influence... Why Nexuiz/Xonotic? Because its fast-paced and has trick movement, but its more like Unreal Tournament then Quake in terms of feel and gameplay mechanics. That makes it more fun for newbies, but still attracts hardcore quake-loving gamers. Best part about Nexuiz/Xonotic, it's free! Both as in free speech and free beer :p Hope you can at least test the game out, and make sure you create a swear filter mutator!
 
...What's a foss? I never read that term before. @_@

Also, I don't think some of us actually use Linux. That, and due to how fast prices drop, great games can be bought for about twenty bucks (Bad Company 2, TF2, etc.) so we don't usually dip into the free game realm.

That's just me though.
 
Personally I don't play a game simply because of its free/commercial status, but rather if its fun to play or not. I've never heard of those games.

That's usually the FOSS issue too is it costs money to marketing and distribute a game. If no one hears about it then no one can play it.

I don't think there is some conspiracy to push out FOSS games though.

*tinfoil hat*
 
Keero said:
...What's a foss? I never read that term before. @_@
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Free or Open Source Software. (I hadn't heard of it either, so I did a search.)

Keero said:
Also, I don't think some of us actually use Linux.
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We have a few members who use Linux. We also have some members who would abandon Windows entirely if all their favorite games were Linux-compatible. A few years ago, when I had more time to tinker with operating systems, I might have done the same if such an option was available.

Keero said:
That, and due to how fast prices drop, great games can be bought for about twenty bucks (Bad Company 2, TF2, etc.) so we don't usually dip into the free game realm.
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True. When games drop below a certain price point, the primary resource for gaming shifts from money to time.

Steam sales also have the side effect of all but eliminating motive for piracy; when a game you want is $5 or $10, it's easier to purchase and download legitimately than download a pirated copy and hassle with all the workarounds, viruses so often packed with such content, and cracked updates.

Danfun64 said:
It might be likely that toj would listen to my request, as ut3 is pretty faced paced, but anyways... Why is it that there are no christian clans that support linux fps gaming, or free fps games at all for that matter.
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There are many Christian clans and gaming groups out there. It's likely there are other Christian gamers playing Nexuiz and other free-to-play games. Your odds are better of finding multi-game communities with members who play FOSS games than finding a Christian clan dedicated to one or multiple FOSS games.

Why?

I can only speak for Tribe of Judah, but perhaps I can use my own experience to help answer your question:

Given two games that are roughly or equally "fun," gamers will almost always choose the game that required monetary investment to play over a free game. If I purchase a copy of UT3 or if I have a premium subscription to Quake Live, I'm going to play those games before a FOSS game like Urban Terror or Nexuiz. It's also one reason why Guild Wars players (who do not pay a monthly fee) are more likely to pick up other games than WoW players (who pay $15 a month). It may also explain why more staff members have come from our Guild Wars chapter than any other MMO guild or chapter.

When it comes to first-person shooters, once I complete the single-player campaign (assuming there is one), gamers play what their friends play. That's why I play UT3 even though I enjoy Quake Live more (and also why I don't play QL more often). It's why I play TF2 and L4D2 every week.

I would still play TF2 occasionally even if Tribe of Judah didn't have a chapter and server for the game (just as I played TFC less frequently than I would have had it been as popular among ToJ members as Counter-Strike 1.6), but not as often. I doubt I would still be playing L4D2 if not for Tribe of Judah. L4D2 is designed to be played with friends.

Starting a new Tribe of Judah chapter takes work. That work is done by volunteers whose time is valuable. While ToJ can start a new chapter more easily than a group of people can start a clan "from scratch," it still requires time and effort. If I don't see sufficient interest in a game or if I believe that interest will be fleeting, then I won't approve the new chapter. (Sometimes, even if there are strong indicators that suggest a new chapter will be successful, activity drops off and the chapter closes within 6 months due to factors outside our influence.)

Past experience strongly suggests that free or open source software games do not build and/or maintain consistent and sustained activity sufficient to justify spending volunteers' time on the task.

Case in point: A few years ago, several ToJ members (myself included) discovered and started playing a free-to-play game called GunZ: The Duel. Multiple members asked: Why don't we start a GunZ chapter? I didn't shoot the idea down, but I explained that no new chapters would be started without a Chapter Leader. No one volunteered for the task and interest in the game dropped like a rock within 4-6 weeks.

Just to be abundantly clear: There is no hard rule saying Tribe of Judah will only start chapters for retail games. But I've yet to see a free-to-play game that has a player base large enough and dedicated enough to warrant consideration for a chapter.

One last point to consider: With the games market over-saturated with quality titles vying for gamers' time, it's more difficult than ever to convince people to invest the time (time, again, being the primary expense in the case of FOSS games) to download, install, configure, learn, and improve at a new game.

Danfun64 said:
I was wondering if you could include Nexuiz (soon to become Xonotic, no relation to this copycat piece of name-stealing crap) to the roster of toj servers.
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Quality servers, more often than not, require monthly expenses. Members could run game servers from home computers, but residential connections aren't designed for running game servers.

If the resource requirements are modest, I don't have any issue with installing and running a Xonotic server on a trial basis (e.g. we run the server for 3 months and if there's little or no activity in that time, we shut it down) when we make the transition from individual rented game servers to a dedicated server.

Danfun64 said:
At least test the game out. Although I run windows myself, there is a whole community of gamers that don't have any christian clan influence... Why Nexuiz/Xonotic? Because its fast-paced and has trick movement, but its more like Unreal Tournament then Quake in terms of feel and gameplay mechanics. That makes it more fun for newbies, but still attracts hardcore quake-loving gamers. Best part about Nexuiz/Xonotic, it's free! Both as in free speech and free beer :p Hope you can at least test the game out, and make sure you create a swear filter mutator!
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I've played Nexuiz and can confirm it's a solid game. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an arena shooter.

That being said, I'll probably pass--at least for now. With my 7 days of free WoW game time already winding down, multiple PS3 game purchases during Black Friday arriving by mail, an already sizable backlog, and 4 weekly game events (Unreal Monday, TF2sday, Left 4 Wednesday, and Straturday), there's not much room for new games right now.

Lloren said:
Personally I don't play a game simply because of its free/commercial status, but rather if its fun to play or not.
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Same here.

Lloren said:
That's usually the FOSS issue too is it costs money to marketing and distribute a game. If no one hears about it then no one can play it.
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That's a good point, too, and supports the "Gamers play what their friends play" point made earlier in the post.

Lloren said:
I don't think there is some conspiracy to push out FOSS games though.
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There isn't. In fact, I tried to generate interest in Quake Live among ToJ members and failed. I mean, it's a free-to-play Quake 3 in your web browser. But nope, people weren't interested.

So while it may seem that I'm shooting down the idea of FOSS game chapters, I myself tried to help get one started in the not-too-distant past.
 
I think that covers it pretty well. Thanks, Tek - I wasn't up on all that.
 
@Tek7: I understand, I wont push it any further. Just in case you reconsider, however, can we post here? Otherwise... That is all.
 
Danfun64 said:
It might be likely that toj would listen to my request, as ut3 is pretty faced paced, but anyways... Why is it that there are no christian clans that support linux fps gaming, or free fps games at all for that matter. I was wondering if you could include Nexuiz (soon to become Xonotic, no relation to this copycat piece of name-stealing crap) to the roster of toj servers. At least test the game out. Although I run windows myself, there is a whole community of gamers that don't have any christian clan influence... Why Nexuiz/Xonotic? Because its fast-paced and has trick movement, but its more like Unreal Tournament then Quake in terms of feel and gameplay mechanics. That makes it more fun for newbies, but still attracts hardcore quake-loving gamers. Best part about Nexuiz/Xonotic, it's free! Both as in free speech and free beer :p Hope you can at least test the game out, and make sure you create a swear filter mutator!
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I hope you realize that the copy cat crap you talked about, is made by the same company that did the original nexuiz..... just something to think about....

Lol.. just saw that inconsistency... anyway, is the game any good? I may look into trying it in the future. I try a lot of these free games...
 
Danfun64 said:
@Tek7: I understand, I wont push it any further. Just in case you reconsider, however, can we post here?
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Certainly!

In fact, feel free to create a separate thread specifically for Xonotic and see if you can find other Christian gamers who play. Even if we don't start a Xonotic chapter, it may help you find other Christian Xonotic players.

On a related note: I'll probably check the Xonotic page from time to time to see if the team has released a playable game. I liked what I played of Nexuiz and with UT3 being the most widely played arena shooter right now (and UT3 being a disappointment after UT2004), I'm interested in trying other arena shooters. I'm in no hurry to add another game to my list, but I'll probably check it out shortly after release.
 
Tek7 said:
Certainly!

In fact, feel free to create a separate thread specifically for Xonotic and see if you can find other Christian gamers who play. Even if we don't start a Xonotic chapter, it may help you find other Christian Xonotic players.

On a related note: I'll probably check the Xonotic page from time to time to see if the team has released a playable game. I liked what I played of Nexuiz and with UT3 being the most widely played arena shooter right now (and UT3 being a disappointment after UT2004), I'm interested in trying other arena shooters. I'm in no hurry to add another game to my list, but I'll probably check it out shortly after release.
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A dissapointment for YOU, not me : )
 
The only thing disappointing about UT3 is my 180 ping.

/rageuninstalledit
 
I don't like first person shooters much, but I love FOSS. I run Ultimate Edition 2.8 Gamers and Win7 dual boot currently. Gfire is quite nice in pidgin, and allows you to chat in Xfire.
I'm a strategy, racing, and adventure fanboy myself.
Long live the day TORQS gets as good as GT5, Hedgewars and Wormux overtake Worms, and 0 A.D. competes with Age of Empires III. Until then, there's WineHQ. ^_^
 
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