Now updated & reposted here: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_try_linux_repostrewrite/

I've noticed a lot of people here express an interest in Linux but with doubts about its ease of use, software/hardware support, concerns that extensive knowledge/use of the terminal is required etc.

I've been using Linux Mint for about the past ~2.5 years and while there was a learning curve the experience was comparable to when I switched from Windows XP to Windows 7. With this giveaway I want to show that now is a great time to consider Linux & encourage people to give it a try, as it really has come a long way in recent years. I've installed it on multiple systems & it's been working out great - I've mostly dumped Windows now.

That said it's not perfect and some systems might have issues at first, so be patient with it - it's a good idea to try it out in the live environment for a while first (the only hardware issue I've encountered so far has been with Realtek notebook wifi cards, which just needed updated drivers). Fortunately with the increase in userbase over the past few years things have been greatly improving, as the more people start using Linux the more incentive manufacturers/developers have to put the effort into supporting it.

Anyway, among the games being given away are a copy of XIII, the complete STALKER series, Shadow Warrior (2013) and The Witcher 3. All of the games in this giveaway are GOG games and all run on Linux either natively or via Wine, except for The Witcher 3 which has a Linux release planned.

This giveaway is actually two in one - there's a main giveaway with the prizes to be awarded at the end, and a second, smaller giveaway that will be running daily for the duration of the main giveaway.

Here is the list of prizes for the main giveaway:

Among the Sleep
Breach & Clear
The Chronicles of Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena
Cities in Motion Collection
Deus Ex GOTY
Divine Divinity + Beyond Divinity
Door Kickers
Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition
The Elder Scrolls Bundle
The Fallout Classics Bundle
Freedom Planet
Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
Lords of Xulima - Deluxe Edition
Magrunner: Dark Pulse
Mark of the Ninja Special Edition
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault War Chest
Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition
Rayman Origins
Rise of the Triad 2013
Risen 1 & 2 Gold
Retro City Rampage DX
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Shadow Warrior (2013)
Shadowrun Returns
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut
Space Pirates and Zombies
STALKER complete series
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
System Shock 2
Total Annihilation
Transistor
TRI: Of Friendship and Madness
Trine + Trine 2
Unreal pack
Warhammer 40,000: Final Liberation
Wasteland
Wasteland 2
The Witcher + The Witcher 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
XIII
Ziggurat

To enter, you just need to post here listing the games you want in order of preference. Trying/using Linux is not required, but is strongly encouraged :p

Rules:
- You must have at least 25 rep.
- Keys are for your own use only/not to be traded (except for leftovers from multi-game keys which may be re-gifted but not traded).
- Giveaway will run for about 14 days, ending on 01/09/2015 at around 22:00 UTC (might end up being a little later).
- Winners will be selected randomly after the giveaway ends.
- Each winner will receive one prize - whichever of the remaining prizes is highest on their list.
- Please only enter for games that you don't already have.
- Please only enter for games that your system can run.
- Please only enter for games that you're interested in, intend to play & won't just let rot in a backlog.
- Any keys not redeemed within one week after being awarded will be given to another entrant.

For the second giveaway, each day I will be posting one or more screenshots taken during the recent install of Linux Mint 17.2 KDE I did over the weekend and along with these screenshots I'll also write a little about them, to show off Mint and perhaps offer some advice/suggestions to help new users get started.

Naturally a lot of this will be specific to Mint KDE but most of it will be similar in the other editions of Mint (and a lot will also apply to other distros too, to varying degrees). I'll also be mostly avoiding the terminal, to show that it's for the most part not required for using Mint.

At least one GOG key will be given away each day via these screenshots and/or their accompanying text. Due to the nature of this giveaway it's free for all & I have no control over who gets what, however I ask that you please only redeem keys for games you don't already have, that you're actually interested in & will play.

I will add a link to each update here as they are posted.

First screenshot:

<span class="bold">-&gt; My Desktop &lt;-<span class="bold">

My current KDE desktop.

I highly recommend Linux Mint to anyone thinking about trying Linux. It's based on Ubuntu but features a number of improvements & is much more user-friendly. I prefer the KDE edition, but Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce are all good desktops - they each have their own advantages & disadvantages and all provide a more familiar desktop interface than Ubuntu. It mostly comes down to personal preference, so it's best to try each of them out first to see which you prefer.

Have a look at the Show off your Linux GOG Desktop! thread to see other GOG Linux users' desktops & get an idea of some of the variety that is available.

Read more about & download Linux Mint from http://www.linuxmint.com

---

Today's games: The Witcher 2, Space Pirates and Zombies

The Witcher 2: B98X-WYFT-CPTF-A63U (3-4-1-2)

Update #2: The Live Environment

Update #3: Linux Mint's Installer

Update #4: System Settings

Update #5: The Update Manager

Update #6: Software Manager</span>

Update #7: <span class="bold">Dolphin (KDE's file manager) and the Linux filesystem</span>

Update #8: <span class="bold">Methods of installing software</span>

Update #9: <span class="bold">PlayOnLinux</span>

Update #10: <span class="bold">CrossOver</span>

Update #11: <span class="bold">Some of the software included with Mint </span>

Update #12: <span class="bold">KDE Customisation</span>

Update #13: <span class="bold">The Terminal</span>

Update #14: <span class="bold">Final update: Some misc useful/interesting stuff</span>

Wow, damned generous of you. +1, but not in. I've dabbled with Linux off and on over the years, but now I'm leaning more and more towards just completely migrating.

Awesome giveaway - and I love the idea of the screenshot giveaway!

I'd tried Linux several times in the late 90's / early 00's but it wasn't until the Dapper Drake (ubuntu 06-04) that I made Linux my primary OS. I've switched between dual-booting and being windows free several times over the years. I even had a two year period where I didn't use wine. I've been windows free again for about a year now, running Arch. I'm perfectly willing to use wine, but there have been so many great Linux releases of late, I haven't used wine in a while.

I'll be in for:
Ziggurat
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
XIII
The Elder Scrolls Bundle
Transistor

LOL this is amazing! I'm going to popping in here for sure as I'm thinking (pretty sure) I'm going to be doing some major updating to my OS / disc space over the next few evenings. I had already been pointed to Mint and I had literally JUST asked which version of it I should go with. I think in your honor I'll try KDE unless, by the time I finish this write up, my post in the other thread I started has a few compelling reasons to go with something else.

I'd also like to toss my hat in the ring. I'm going to be a bit of a pig and list a couple games here, in order of preference (most to least)

Transistor

Star Trek 25th

Witcher 3

Door Kickers

I'll also gladly be popping in daily, especially if I don't wuss out and actually end up following up on my previous thread! Please feel free to pop in there from time to time and offer me pointers ;)

As a gamer, there really hasn't been a better time to switch. Many new games are supporting Linux, and older games are pretty reliable with wine.

I do use Ubuntu as a secondary OS on my gaming machine. I originally installed with the intent to move off of windows and onto Linux as several people I have known use Linux. I also had a laptop running Mint years back and that was actually really intuitive, but it was really only for the internet and downloading stuff, so it was hardly using the system to the full potential.
It is not really I have a problem with running Linux OSes - as there are plenty of places online to go and get help when I get stuck. It has really been more the whole - it is easier to play games on Windows. Lazy I know and I should really try more with Ubuntu. Especially as all but one game* I have tried could be made to work using WINE without any problems and my GOG collection has continually grown in Linux installers.
I am interested to see what you have to show about the current Mint after my time with it a few years back.

As to your XIII code. How long have you had that? I bought it just before it was pulled and that is nearly at the beginning of my collection.



EDIT:
*Splinter Cell 2. Told me I was not using XP and just would not go on.

I’ve been using Linux exclusively since 2009, so I’m not really the target for this giveaway. Actually, I’m not in ;)

But I like your idea, so here is what I want to offer as a way to get even more fun from this giveaway…
Some of you may already know about my ./play.it project, which goal is to allow an easy-to-use way to install games on some Linux distributions. Some games offered here are already supported by this project, so you can easily install them under Linux even if it’s your first day using it. Namely: So here comes my proposal: if you happen to win one of the games in the following list, and you’re using (or planning to use) a distribution supported by the ./play.it project (Debian and all its derivative, including Ubuntu and Linux Mint), I invite you to request the said game to be added to the list of games supported by the project. If you do so I’ll try to add support for it in the next couple days (if you’re lucky it might even be the next couple hours).
Here is the list of the games I own that could benefit from this offer: Good luck to all the entrants ;)

WOW! This is a great giveaway. Thank you!

I only tried Linux once (Ubuntu 12.04) and I really had a bad experience with it. It was my first time I tried Linux and I didn't liked it. After that I never touched Linux again. But maybe I should give Linux Mint a chance. I heard it is easier to use and learn as a newcomer who only used Windows before. Is there a live-version (from DVD or flash drive) available I could use to test it without installation? Or would you recommend some other Linux version for a Linux beginner who comes from Windows (perhaps with german language pack if possible)?

I'm in for:

1. Witcher 3
2. The Elder Scrolls Bundle
3. Lords of Xulima - Deluxe Edition
4. Shadow Warrior (2013)
5. Unreal pack

Thanks for this giveaway again! Thanks for the answers in advance! Good luck all!

Edit: Added The Elder Scrolls Bundle to list.

Thank you so much for such a wonderful giveaway! As a somewhat linuxer (I've been using ubuntu/xubuntu on my laptop for about 4-5 years now, and that's the system I usually use, but these days I am back home, so I am using my battlestation of a desktop with Windows 7).

I would like to be in for one of the following games (in the given order) if possible:
Wasteland 2
Rayman Origins
Ziggurat
Shadow Warrior (2013)
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

And if I could be greedy enough to take advantage of some of the linux experts who may stick their head in here (or even adamhm), could someone do a mod highlight type thing for the BG series? I just want to be able to play the two combined on my linux laptop with all the mods that help make it playable today, with or without gemrb (whichever is a better experience, I guess). Lots of people will be highly appreciative of such help, I'm sure!

U mad and I'm in! :P
I'll be away until 4\9, however.. let me enter, please T_T
(maybe I'll manage to connect sometimes)

1- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2- Wasteland 2
3- Rayman Origins
4- STALKER (I only need SoC)
5- Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut
6- The Elder Scrolls Bundle
7- Transistor

I'll probably have to switch to Linux, due to concerns about Win10.
The biggest problem for me will be losing some good programs or games. :(
I'll decide at the end of the year, when I'll buy a new pc.. fingers crossed.

P.s: beware of alts & scammers!

I also bought it just before it was removed. I regret not buying a whole bunch of keys :/ Well, I had no prior experience with Linux & Mint was very easy to settle into. Mint's a great distro for beginners :)

All of the Mint .ISOs feature a live environment... use something like the Easy USB Installer or to make a bootable flash drive, or use [url=https://www.virtualbox.org]VirtualBox to try them out

Such a great giveaway! ++

I'd lie If i said i never had any experience with linux. In fact I'm quite sure it will be my main OS on my next laptop as I'm definitely not going to upgrade my 7 to any other windows. There is only one thing I'll go dual boot, EAX, which isn't supported by linux.. Or am I mistaken?

In all my greediness shame not to be in for one of the following reasons ; )

XIII
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Wasteland 2
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut
The Chronicles of Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena

Thank you very much for your generosity adamhm! Everybody Go Linux!

edit:
but please, don't leave codes like that.. bastards around ; )
edit2:
removed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault War Chest from wishlist, got the game already : )

Thanks for your answer. I will give it a try (next week; I am too busy right now). Good for me I can use a flash drive to test it because my DVD drive is broken on this laptop.

It's not an open code, you need to solve it.. somehow O_o

thats still an open code - ever tested putting out a code on the forum encrypted? - goes just as quickly as it would naked. The lurkers aren't total idiots!