If you only run the X and GL versions of Quake, QuakeWorld or Quake II,
you don't need to run them with root permissions. SVGA is the only mode
that must be run as root. The X versions just need access to
/dev/dsp
, the sound device. The GL versions need access to the
3Dfx card as well as to /dev/dsp
.
/dev/dsp
needs to be readable and writeable by Quake. Most
distributions give it 662 (rw-rw--w-
) permissions by default. The
simplest solution is to just chmod 666 /dev/dsp
. On most systems,
the ability to read from the sound device will not pose a significant security
threat. If this approach is unacceptable for your system, create a group that
owns /dev/dsp
and make your Quake players members of that group.
You need the /dev/3dfx
driver from Daryll Strauss' glide page
(
http://glide.xxedgexx.com/3DfxRPMS.html) in order run glide
applications (like GLQuake) non-root. Download the Device3Dfx.xxx.rpm
package and install according to the instructions on the web page.
When /dev/dsp
and /dev/3dfx
are properly set up, you can
remove the setuid bit from your Quake/QW/Q2 executables. Just do
(as root) chmod 0755 XXXXX
, where XXXXX is either glquake
,
quake.x11
, or quake2
.
This is based on a Linux Gazette 2 Cent Tip by Joey Hess ( joey@kite.ml.org) The original is at http://www.ssc.com/lg/issue20/lg_tips20.html#squake
Yes, it's possible to run the Quake games from X if you're root, but such behavior is naughty, and you still run the risk of having Quake crash and leave the console unresponsive. With a little work you can make it possible for a regular user to run SVGA and GL Quake from X AND automatically switch back to X when the program is finished, regardless of whether it exited normally or not.
Note: when I say "Quake" in the text below, I really mean "quake, glquake squake, qwcl, glqwcl, qwcl.x11 or quake2".
make;make install
to compile and install
it. Once it's installed, you need to make the open
and
switchto
executables setuid root. So do this:
cd /usr/local/bin
chown root open switchto
chmod 4755 open switchto
getvc.c
:
/* getvc.c
* Prints the number of the current VC to stdout. Most of this code
* was ripped from the open program, and this code is GPL'd
*
* Joey Hess, Fri Apr 4 14:58:50 EST 1997
*/
#include <sys/vt.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
main () {
int fd = 0;
struct vt_stat vt;
if ((fd = open("/dev/console",O_WRONLY,0)) < 0) {
perror("Failed to open /dev/console\n");
return(2);
}
if (ioctl(fd, VT_GETSTATE, &vt) < 0) {
perror("can't get VTstate\n");
close(fd);
return(4);
}
printf("%d\n",vt.v_active);
}
/* End of getvc.c */
Compile it and install it somewhere in your $PATH
:
gcc getvc.c -o getvc
strip getvc
mv getvc /usr/local/bin
runvc
:
your $PATH
:
#!/bin/sh
# Run something on a VC, from X, and switch back to X when done.
# GPL Joey Hess, Thu, 10 Jul 1997 23:27:08 -0400
exec open -s -- sh -c "$* ; chvt `getvc`"
Make it executable and put it somewhere in your $PATH
:
chmod 755 runvc
mv runvc /usr/local/bin
Now when you want to run Quake, use runvc
to do it, and
you'll automatically switch to a VC, run Quake and then switch back to X
when it's done!
From the Quake II readme.linux
file:
By default, the mouse will not be 'tied' to the Quake2 window. To cause Quake2 to grab the mouse, select 'Windowed Mouse' from the video menu, or type '_windowed_mouse 0' at the console. Do the reverse to release it. You can bind keys to grab and release the mouse in the console, like so: bind i "_windowed_mouse 1" bind o "_windowed_mouse 0" Then "i" will grab the mouse and "o" will release it.
You may have seen or heard mention of ways to "tweak" Quake's OpenGL performance by setting various environment variables. These variables are equally valid under Linux. You just set them slightly differently. If a Windows/DOS "tweak" guide tells you to:
SET SST_GRXCLK=59
Under Linux, do it like this:
export SST_GRXCLK=59
Joe S. ( jszabo@eden.rutgers.edu) suggests:
a trick I do with qstat:
I make a file of my favorite servers, then do
qstat -f /C/quake2/file.txt | less
hit control z to suspend, then copy the ip address or hostname I want with gpm to a command line like:
./quake2 +connect expert.eqclans.com
Then I can use fg to go back to the list later...