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Frozenbyte's Platformer Splot May Not Come To Linux It Seems

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYtn7__bXKY
Remember Splot? The little platformer that was part of a certain Humble Bundle that promised cross-platform support, and future keys to anyone who purchased it? Well they announced the release with no mention of Linux, and now we know why. Previously, in that link above they tweeted to us saying they have no clear estimate as to when it will come to Linux, but it's more unclear now.

A reddit user got a reply from Frozenbyte on it:
QuoteHi Sebastian, we don't unfortunately have an estimate for the Mac and Linux versions. The Linux version is especially dependent on support from Marmalade, the platform used to develop Splot on. We can't make the Linux version until they support it.

Source

It always shocks me when a developer promises a platform they don't check they can actually support. They've had over three years (Frozenbyte's Humble Bundle was in April 2011) to get this sorted, so colour me in unimpressed paint by this.

There you have it folks, Splot is turning into our very own Duke Nukem Forever, will it ever come to Linux? Who knows, Splot Forever.

It does get tiring to see more developers claiming Linux support, to then not be able to deliver on it. It's hard not to blame Frozenbyte here after more than three years, I can't find a reason to be optimistic about this no matter how hard I try.
I've tried looking around to find hints if this "Marmalade" software will come to Linux, but no joy.

To echo my statements from the Insurgency article:
We say it a lot, but never, ever, buy a game on a promise. Buy a game once the Linux version is out, or risk being burnt.

While this wasn't a purchase just for Splot, as it was part of a bundle, it's still worth remembering for future purchases. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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toor Nov 10, 2014
*sigh*
Wait… it's taking years, it was part of the humble bundle with linux mentionned, and now "oh… we used something that isn't supported on linux, not our fault"

Really? oO
micmon Nov 10, 2014
Yeah, I paid for this in 2011 when they promised Linux support. What a shame...
Glink Nov 10, 2014
this guys are kidding me right? 3 years and they now say its not their fault for not doing their homework???

do it with another game engine like Löve. you have no excuse...
Cyba.Cowboy Nov 10, 2014
Can anyone say "incompetent" (in reference to the developers, of course)?

And it's articles like this that prevent me from buying anything until support for Linux-based operating systems is actually offered (well, articles like this and my "Rebuild" experience below)... 50% of the time the developers just don't do their research (as this article implies, it's surprisingly common practice amongst even the most professional developers!), 25% of the time developers are making a cash-grab with no real intention of supporting Linux-based operating systems and 25% of the time developers take a "we'll get to it, eventually" approach, citing the small marketshare.

Take Plague: Evolved for example - they promised support for Linux-based operating systems at launch... Then it became "soon after launch"... Now it's "eventually".

Then there's Sarah Northway and her "Rebuild" franchise - Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville was supposedly going to have support for Linux-based operating systems at launch... Only for Sarah to do a "Woops, Adobe Air no longer supports Linux-based operating systems!"

I foolishly bought Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville prior to its launch, taking Sarah on her words... Only to discover the hard way that I should have waited.
DrMcCoy Nov 10, 2014
We're also still waiting on Giana Sisters. It's supposed to come this year; they've got two more months left.
Hamish Nov 10, 2014
Well, I can still definitely say that I got my money's worth when I purchased the Humble Frozenbyte Bundle for Trine and Shadowgrounds alone, but this is still rather disappointing.
titi Nov 10, 2014
Maybe this Marmalade? ( Edit: yes, this is the engine as splot is listed there as one of the games of the month )
https://www.madewithmarmalade.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmalade_%28software%29


And more edit: Here the list of supported Platforms:
https://www.madewithmarmalade.com/marmalade/supported-platforms
Avehicle7887 Nov 10, 2014
Doesn't seem like a friendly company to me, they write such comments as "Native Performance, Any device" or even worse "Marmalade supports all open native operating systems" without mentioning Linux anywhere and I'm pretty sure they're aware of the rising Linux popularity in gaming.

As for Frozenbyte, I've always viewed the company as a strong contributor to Linux games, I appreciate their work in porting their games but this is outright disappointing to me. They knew Marmalade didn't support Linux and yet they still dug their head in the sand and didn't care about their Linux fans and they had 3 years to think about this.
Cyba.Cowboy Nov 10, 2014
Quoting: Avehicle7887They knew Marmalade didn't support Linux and yet they still dug their head in the sand and didn't care about their Linux fans and they had 3 years to think about this.

They assumed it supported Linux-based operating systems, and we know what they say about assumptions...

View video on youtube.com
GBee Nov 10, 2014
There's a linux petition on Marmalade's website which could use a few more signatures.
https://answers.madewithmarmalade.com/questions/18263/petition-linux-support.html
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