Mmorpg

The term MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Since &quot;mmorpg&quot; is not pronounceable by mortal humans (attempts include "muh-morg" or "muh-mog"), many people refer to a game of this genre as simply a &quot;massive&quot;, or &quot;virtual world&quot;

The distinquishing features of a MMORPG are:
 * a virtual world, with persistent geography
 * players interact with the world via a character, which can acquire abilities and personal property
 * a huge number of simultaneous users, more than any average player can interact with simultaneously

Examples of MMORPGs

 * Ultima Online
 * City of Heroes
 * World of Warcraft

What MMORPGs will run natively on Linux?

 * Illarion (www.illarion.org)
 * A free MMORPG that focusses on true roleplaying. It has a nice, dense community that enjoys an inspiring game without grinding or 'pwnage'. Runs on every platform that supports Java Runtime 1.5 or better. Download at http://www.illarion.org


 * Project Diaspora (www.nighsoft.com)
 * Developed on linux. A space mmorpg completely opensource. Download at http://downloadpdiaslin.nighsoft.net/


 * Runescape (www.runescape.com)
 * Runs on any platform that supports Java applets. Accounts can be free, or you can pay a subscription fee for additional abilities and content.  The social aspect may leave one wanting.


 * EternalLands (www.eternal-lands.com)
 * . "The people are nice, but the game is a pain. Perhaps it just needs to grow."


 * planeshift (www.planeshift.it)
 * has a Linux client. You can download it from SourceForge's project page (sf.net)


 * A Tale In The Desert (www.atitd.com)
 * ATiTD is interesting that there is no combat. Rather people all pull togeather to pass test and challenges.  "I did get the Linux Client to work after I got the Nvidia driver installed. Some of the tests in ATITD are quite complex and require lots of trial and error to puzzle out. Its worth checking out."


 * Puzzle Pirates (www.puzzlepirates.com)
 * is another puzzle-based game with a Pirate theme. Fighting is handled by competitive tetris-like games, and sailing a ship requires a team of people each playing a different puzzle game to perform their role as bilge-pumper, navigator, sailskeepers or gunnery.  Like RuneScape, you can play a diminished version for free, and it runs as a Java program.


 * I am still hoping World Forge (www.worldforge.org) can get something going!


 * Regnum Online (www.regnumonline.com.ar)
 * Is a game under development that has an unofficial Linux client. The engine was built from scratch with multi-platform in mind, that's why it has support for both DirectX and OpenGL. The game is from Argentina but they have already a multi-language version with all content in English (Most of the translations are even better than most already launched MMORPG's). Currently there is no link on their website but there is a thread on the forums. Asking for the Linux binaries on the English forum would do the trick.


 * vendetta-online (www.vendetta-online.com)
 * is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) in development by Guild Software Inc. In this game, thousands of people will be able to play together, at the same time, in a single, persistent universe. Players take the form of spaceship pilots within this universe, flying to and fro between space stations and other locations in the galaxy. All combat within the game is fully realtime, based entirely on "twitch" skill (no "virtual dice rolling"). Players may fight one another, fight NPCs, participate in groups, or potentially even engage in large-scale Guild combat.


 * Wurm Online (www.wurmonline.com)
 * Runs on any platform that supports Java Runtime 1.5 or better.

Emulation
Cedega(formerly known as WineX) seems to be working on getting MMORPGs working. City of Heroes runs nigh-flawlessly on my computer through Cedega, World of Warcraft and Anarchy Online is also supported. There is also a Full List of MMORPGS and their functionality with Cedega.