Hey everyone. Klebs here and today, I will talk about this phenomenon on Linux known as distro hopping and my first impressions of it.

Why jump on another distribution

At first, my goal was to find a distro that would allow me to do as much as possible the same things as I did on Windows. I talked to my colleagues and watched some YouTube videos and here’s what I tend to hear:

If you’re used to a Windows environment and you want to use your computer to play video games, go with Linux Mint. It’s a good distro… to get started.

To get started? Does it mean I’ll have to eventually replace it? Right now, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon fills my needs as well as my family’s so I don’t feel the need to hop on another distro just for kicks. At least, that’s what I thought.

As I started learning more about desktop environments and the stability vs bleeding-edge debate, doubt also slowly started creeping inside my head. Some prefer the Debian/Ubuntu group because a huge number of software and games are developed with this group in mind. Others prefer Fedora/Red Hat and Arch/Manjaro/Antergos that are considered bleeding edge and are evolving more frequently. I’ve decided to leave my family desktop alone and use my wife’s laptop as a guinea pig to try other distros.

Exploring new territories using Live USB

I understand now why Linux users don’t recommend buying a brand-new laptop to install Linux on it. It’s not just a waste of money considering you’re basically paying for a Windows or Mac license you won’t use anyway. You’re not even sure if your distro of choice will work on it. I found that out real quick when I tried to boot Manjaro and then Antergos on a Dell XPS 13 9350 (see picture below).

Source: Tigerfog, iPhone

Of course, everything’s possible with a bit of research but I wasn’t willing to risk destroying my wife’s laptop while poking the BIOS. My adventure with the Arch family will unfortunately have to wait indefinitely. At least, I managed to boot Manjaro on my family desktop so I know my USB thumb drive works fine.

What’s next

In short, it was a positive experience. I succeeded in booting Linux Mint 19.1 Xfce and Fedora 29 GNOME on the laptop so instead of buying my own, I may as well use my wife’s. After all, a colleague explained to me how it’s possible to install Linux on an SSD plugged in via a SATA-to-USB-C cable. With that, it will feel like booting from an internal SSD. Next up, I will put this idea on my project backlog for this year and with this, I should be able to write tutorials for more than just Linux Mint.

Source: Tigerfog, iPhone

Questions? Comments? Let me know, thanks for reading and laters.

L’article Distro hopping on Linux and my thoughts on it est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

Source: Tigerfog, iPhone

Before we begin

First, I’d like to thank ETA Prime for inspiring me to write this tutorial. In his video, he explains how to extract ROMs, rename them and use them in Retroarch, a multi-platform tool for emulators. To find out more:

Source: ETA Prime

Why then do I bother writing this if ETA Prime has already covered the subject? Two reasons:

• he used Windows to explain the process
• he showed how to rename the files without getting into too much details

If you also use Windows or can get around Sega’s odd ROM-naming conventions, ETA Prime’s video is all you need. However, if you prefer a Linux-oriented tutorial or a script that will rename the files for you, I’ll encourage you to keep reading.

Buying the games and locating them

You can legally buy certain Genesis/Mega Drive games on Steam individually or as part of a special package called Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics through this affiliate link on Humble Bundle. From this point on, I’ll use the term Sega Classics when I refer to Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics for the sake of simplicity.

Since the Sega Classics game isn’t natively available on Linux, we need to make sure Steam is configured to run all games in SteamPlay mode using Proton. That way, Sega Classics will appear in the list of purchased games making it available to be downloaded and installed.

Once installed, right-clicking on Sega Classics and choosing Properties will make the pop-up window appear (see image below).

Source: personal screenshot

Clicking on the Browse local files under the Local files tab will show the exact location of Sega Classics on the computer (see image below).

Source: personal screenshot

Normally, if the username is klebs and the default location set by Steam hasn’t been changed, the folder should be at /home/klebs/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Sega\ Classics

In my case as the above screenshot clearly shows, the folder is located at /mnt/DATA/Jeux/Steam/steamapps/common/Sega\ Classics

Renaming the files

Assuming the username is klebs and is using Steam’s default game location, the following commands in the terminal will create a copy of the ROMs in another folder and create a CSV file with nano:

cd /home/klebs/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Sega\ Classics
cp -R uncompressed\ ROMs/ ~/Documents/SegaROMS
cd ~/Documents/SegaROMS
nano segaclassicslist.csv

Before copying the list below in nano, it’s important to make sure nothing’s missing. Also, the original filenames should match those in the SegaROMS folder.

ALEXKIDD_U.68K,Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (USA).gen
AlienSoldier_Europe.SGD,Alien Soldier (Europe).md
AlienStorm_USA.SGD,Alien Storm (USA).gen
ALTEREDB_UE.68K,Altered Beast (USA).gen
BEYONDOA_E.68K,The Story of Thor (Europe).md
BEYONDOA_F.68K,The Story of Thor (France).md
BEYONDOA_G.68K,The Story of Thor (Germany).md
BEYONDOA_J.68K,The Story of Thor - Hikari o Tsugumono (Japan).bin
BEYONDOA_S.68K,The Story of Thor (Spain).md
BEYONDOA_U.68K,Beyond Oasis (USA).gen
BONANZAB_JE.68K,Bonanza Bros. (Europe).md
Columns3_USA.SGD,Columns III (USA).gen
COLUMNS_W.68K,Columns (World).gen
COMIXZON_U.68K,Comix Zone (USA).gen
CrackDown_USA.SGD,Crack Down (USA).gen
Crying_USA.SGD,Bio Hazard Battle (USA).gen
DECAP_UE.68K,DEcapAttack (USA).gen
DYNAHEAD_J.68K,Dynamite Headdy (Japan).bin
DYNAHEAD_UE.68K,Dynamite Headdy (USA).gen
ECCO2_U.68K,Ecco - The Tides of Time (USA).gen
eccojr.smd,Ecco Jr. (USA).gen
ECCO_UE.68K,Ecco the Dolphin (USA).gen
ESWAT_U.68K,ESWAT - City Under Siege (USA).gen
EternalChampions_USA.SGD,Eternal Champions (USA).gen
FATALLAB_JU.68K,Fatal Labyrinth (USA).gen
FLICKY_UE.68K,Flicky (USA).gen
GAING_UE.68K,Gain Ground (USA).gen
GalaxyForceII_UE.SGD,Galaxy Force II (USA).gen
GAXE2_W.68K,Golden Axe II (World).gen
GAXE3_J.68K,Golden Axe III (Japan).bin
GAXE_W.68K,Golden Axe (World).gen
Gunstar Heroes U.bin,Gunstar Heroes (USA).gen
KIDCHAM_UE.68K,Kid Chameleon (USA).gen
LandStalker_USA.SGD,Landstalker (USA).gen
LightCrusader_USA.SGD,Light Crusader (USA).gen
MonsterLair_JUE.SGD,Wonder Boy III - Monster Lair (Europe).md
MonsterWorld3.SGD,Wonder Boy V - Monster World III (Japan).bin
MonsterWorld3_USA.SGD,Wonder Boy in Monster World (USA).gen
PhantasyStar2_UE_GreenCrossFix.SGD,Phantasy Star II (USA).gen
PhantasyStar3_USA.SGD,Phantasy Star III - Generations of Doom (USA).gen
PhantasyStar4.SGD,Phantasy Star IV (USA).gen
RISTAR_UE.68K,Ristar (USA).gen
ROBOTNIK_U.68K,Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (USA).gen
ShadowDancer.SGD,Shadow Dancer - The Secret of Shinobi (World).gen
SHINING2_U.68K,Shining Force II (USA).gen
SHININGD_UE.68K,Shining in the Darkness (USA).gen
SHININGF_U.68K,Shining Force (USA).gen
SHINOBI3_U.68K,Shinobi III - Return of the Ninja Master (USA).gen
SONIC2_W.68K,Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (World).gen
SONIC3D_UE.68K,Sonic 3D Blast ~ Sonic 3D Flickies' Island (USA).gen
Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin,Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (World).gen
SONICSPI_U.68K,Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball (USA).gen
SONIC_W.68K,Sonic The Hedgehog (World).gen
sov.smd,Sword of Vermilion (USA).gen
SPACEHARRIERII.bin,Space Harrier II (World).gen
STHUNDER_W.68K,Super Thunder Blade (World).gen
STREETS2_U.68K,Streets of Rage 2 (USA).gen
STREETS3_E.68K,Streets of Rage 3 (Europe).md
STREETS3_J.68K,Bare Knuckle III (Japan).bin
STREETS3_U.68K,Streets of Rage 3 (USA).gen
STREETS_W.68K,Streets of Rage - Bare Knuckle - Ikari no Tetsuken (World).gen
TheSuperShinobi_JUE.SGD,The Revenge of Shinobi (USA).gen
ToeJamEarl.SGD,ToeJam & Earl (World).gen
ToeJamEarl2_USA.SGD,ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (USA).gen
VECTMAN2_U.68K,Vectorman 2 (USA).gen
VECTMAN_UE.68K,Vectorman (USA).gen
VIRTUAFIGHTER2.bin,Virtua Fighter 2 (USA).gen

After saving and closing the CSV file, next up, it’s time to write a script that will rename the files:

nano segaclassicsrename.sh

#!/bin/bash
IFS=","
while read f1 f2
do
echo "rename from : $f1"
echo "to : $f2"
mv $f1 "$f2"
echo "done"
done < segaclassicslist.csv

After saving and closing the script, all that remains is to make it executable and run it:

chmod +x ./segaclassicsrename.sh
./segaclassicsrename.sh

If everything goes according to plan, the new filenames should be more straightforward.

Conclusion

Questions? Comments? Let me know, thanks for reading and laters.

L’article Extracting ROMs from Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics bought on Steam on Linux Mint 18.3 est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

Source: Tigerfog, Humble Bundle

What’s a Humble Partner?

Someone who’s partnered with Humble Bundle can help the latter sell its products in exchange of a commission by sharing what’s known as affiliate links. When you click on one of these links and you buy the advertised product or anything else on the Humble Bundle website, I receive a seller’s commission. The best part? It comes at no additional cost on your end. However, by using my affiliate links to purchase something on Humble Bundle, you contribute on helping the blog grow (e.g. buying retro video game accessories for review, investing in the development of this website, etc.).

How does it work?

First, you click on the image below or another one just like it on the homepage to access the Humble Bundle website.

Second, you buy something on that website.

Third? That’s pretty much it.

I don’t know what to buy

Here’s the first affiliate link in image form I’d like to share with you:

Source: Sabotage, Devolver Digital

The Messenger is a 2D action platformer with retro-style graphics and heavily inspired by Ninja Gaiden on the NES. It’s been released for a while now and I’ve long hesitated to buy it because Linux wasn’t officially supported. Knowing that it’s now playable on Steam with Proton (I’m currently using version 3.16-6 Beta), I gave it a shot and am glad I did.

The most amusing part? Seeing a ninja speak in Québécois, a form of Canadian French.

Source: iPhone, Tigerfog

Need more than mere images and recommendations? Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself:

Source: Sabotage, Devolver Digital

Hurry up because The Messenger is 30% off until Monday, February 11th 2019 at 2PM EST (Montreal time).

Questions? Comments? Let me know, thanks for reading and laters.

L’article Humble Partner + The Messenger Sale est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

If you wish to support me, you can buy the games I mentioned in this blog post via these Humble Bundle affiliate links and it comes at no additional cost from you. Thanks.

The King of Fighters 2002 (Steam multi-platform and DRM-free)
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (Steam Windows only)

Hey everyone. Klebs here and today, I’ll show you how to assign your keyboard to your controller using AntiMicro in Linux Mint 18.3.

I generally don’t have issues with games detecting my controller during startup but it happens sometimes that it either doesn’t recognize or just don’t natively support it. Such is the case with The King of Fighters 2002 on GOG which I will use as an example for this tutorial.

Source: iPhone, Tigerfog

Getting started

First of all, I’d like to thank Travis (Ryochan7) for developing this application as well as the organization who has been maintaining it since on GitHub.

Before installing the application, it’s important to add the LibreGeek repository and then make sure Linux is up-to-date by entering this command line in the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mdeguzis/libregeek
sudo apt update

It’s also possible to take a step further in the update process by using this command line instead:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Installing the AntiMicro application

To install the aplication, enter this command line:

sudo apt install antimicro

Testing AntiMicro with a game

Mapping one controller

Source: Cropped screen capture

1. Plug in the controller.
2. Start AntiMicro.
3. Start the game that will be run alongside AntiMicro (e.g.: The King of Fighters 2002) preferably in windowed mode to have both windows sharing the screen.
4. In the in-game Options menu, find the controls section.
5. Under the only controller tab in AntiMicro, press on each key followed by its controller button counterpart to pair them together.
   • NOTE: according to the screenshot above, it may seem as the keys mapped to the controller buttons don’t seem to match the ones in the options menu in the game but that’s because the in-game image is wrong (the A and Z keys are used instead of Q and W).

Maping multiple controllers

Source: Cropped screen capture

1. Plug in the controllers.
2. Start AntiMicro.
   • Depending on the number of plugged-in controllers, there will be an equal number of tabs in AntiMicro used to map the keys to each controller.
3. Start the game that will be run alongside AntiMicro (e.g.: The King of Fighters 2002) preferably in windowed mode to have both windows sharing the screen.
4. In the in-game Options menu, find the controls section.
5. Under each controller tab in AntiMicro, press on each key followed by its controller button counterpart to pair them together.

Testing the game

1. With AntiMicro still running, use the controller in-game to see whether the buttons have been mapped properly.
2. If it works, click on the “Save” button in AntiMicro to create a new profile.
3. If it’s not done already, switch the game to fullscreen mode and have fun playing it with the controller.

Deleting the AntiMicro application

It’s also possible to delete the application by entering the following:

sudo apt remove antimicro

Conclusion

Questions? Comments? Let me know, thanks for reading and laters.

L’article How to map the keyboard to the controller in Linux Mint 18.3 est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.