HOWTO Run a game or other program on another display
For some reason probably related to Compiz-Fusion, I could not get Warsow working just now. When I started it, my mouse would be locked in the center of the screen. I had four virtual desktops going within Compiz, so I figured that it was somewhat related.
Rather than figure out the bug or close everything I had open, I decided to simply start another X server to handle Warsow.
I did this with startx ./warsow -- :1. I had to modify /etc/X11/Xwrapper.config and change where it says “console” to “anyone” before it would work, though.
This can be done for any program or game, but it’s best suited for those that occupy the whole screen.
In order to switch back to the regular desktop, hit CTRL+ALT+F7. To go back to your game, hit CTRL+ALT+F8. This is useful for switching between a game and work when it’s not your turn or you’re waiting for a long respawn. In fact, I wrote this post switching between Firefox on :0 (F7) and Warsow on :1 (F8).
Oh how I love the things I can do on Ubuntu that I could never do on Windows.
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