Quake 2 on YDL

See it in action on youtube!

UPDATE:  I have added a RPM package built for Yellow Dog 6 in the files area of the PS3 Bodega Software Repo, so it is no longer necessary to build from the source as described below.  Demo files will be automatically downloaded at startup (full version files are supported but not included).  The full version is available on Steam.

Even without any hardware accelerated OpenGL, Quake 2 runs great on the Playstation 3 with Yellow Dog 6. I normally play at 960×720 and it runs around 3o FPS (according to timerefresh). The gameplay is smooth at this speed and very entertaining. Following these instructions should have you dodging, ducking, and spreading giblets all over the place in no time!

This will require either the Quake 2 demo files or the full retail version of Quake 2. If you already have the Quake 4 Special DVD Edition, it includes a second disc with Quake 2 + Expansion packs. This makes it very easy to copy the data files over to your PS3.

Just copy the entire contents of /path/to/your/DVD/setup/data to where you want it on your PS3 (like in your home folder under quake2, for example: ~/quake2). Instructions for using the demo files are included in the README with the source.

Building and Installing the game:

I’m running it using the source port found on icculus.org.Compiling from the quake2-r0.16.1.tar.gz source required editing the make file — the portion I changed looks like this:

BUILD_SDLQUAKE2=YES # sdlquake2 executable (uses SDL for cdrom and sound)
BUILD_SVGA=NO # SVGAlib driver. Seems to work fine.
BUILD_X11=NO # X11 software driver. Works somewhat ok.
BUILD_GLX=NO # X11 GLX driver. Works somewhat ok.
BUILD_FXGL=NO # FXMesa driver. Not tested. (used only for V1 and V2).
BUILD_SDL=YES # SDL software driver. Works fine for some people.
BUILD_SDLGL=NO # SDL OpenGL driver. Works fine for some people.
BUILD_CTFDLL=YES # game$(ARCH).so for ctf
BUILD_XATRIX=NO # game$(ARCH).so for xatrix (see README.r for details)
BUILD_ROGUE=NO # game$(ARCH).so for rogue (see README.r for details)
BUILD_JOYSTICK=YES # build in joystick support
BUILD_ARTS=NO # build in support for libaRts sound.
BUILD_ALSA=NO # build in support for ALSA (default sound on 2.6)
BUILD_DEDICATED=NO # build a dedicated quake2 server
BUILD_AA=NO # build the ascii soft renderer.
BUILD_QMAX=NO # build the fancier GL graphics
BUILD_RETEXTURE=NO # build a version supporting retextured graphics
BUILD_REDBLUE=NO # build a red-blue 3d glasses renderer...
STATICSDL=NO
SDLDIR=/usr/local/lib

Then compile and install like so:

[installdir] is wherever you want to install the original quake2 game files — I used ~/quake2
The releaseppc folder will be found in your source dir after you compile.

0. edit Makefile as described above, then ‘make ARCH=ppc‘ When compiling is done you’ll have a new folder called releaseppc. If you get errors when trying to compile you may be missing some dependencies.
1. copy releaseppc/gameppc.so to [installdir]/baseq2/
2. copy releaseppc/ref_*.so to [installdir]
3. copy releaseppc/sdlquake2 to [installdir]
4. copy releaseppc/ctf/gameppc.so to [installdir]/ctf/ (optional)
5. copy releaseppc/sdlquake2 to your /usr/local/bin folder (you need root privilege to do this)

Once you have all that set up you start quake2 like this:

sdlquake2 +set vid_ref=softsdl +set basedir ~/quake2
(where ~/quake2 is the [installdir] you copied the original Quake 2 files and the new binaries)

Note:
If the default resolution is higher than your screen resolution you can start in windowed mode and change it in the game menu. To start in windowed mode instead:

sdlquake2 +set vid_fullscreen 0 +set vid_ref=softsdl +set basedir ~/quake2

Try running from the command line first to see if you get any errors, then you can set it up as a launcher on the desktop, or as a new menu item using alacarte.