Quoting: Guest

Quoting: Doc AngeloMaybe I missed it, but what would the technical benefit be?

In isolation, nothing. In eventually forcing companies to move to 64-bit, it should be obvious.

Consider imagining that it wasn't obvious because someone asked quite specifically what it was.

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I have one question about all this, as a naive non-developer. How hard can it be to port a board game to a computer in the first place, let alone from Windows to Linux?
I mean, simple set of rules, no AI, hardly any graphics requirements . . . you'd think it would be, like, a bit of scripting, a bit of art based on the existing game art, a few simple animations to make it look a little cool, and done. Even if you somehow had to do a complete rewrite because you're a total moron and wrote it in Visual Basic or some damn thing, I still don't see how it would be a huge task.

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Quoting: tuubi

Quoting: callciferuse Mac or Linux exclusively to the point of never-ever-ever booting into Windows

You make it sound like a strange quirk instead of a perfectly rational choice. :D

It's like he was talking about those irrational weirdos who use Windows exclusively to the point of never-ever-ever booting into Linux! :P

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Quoting: wvstolzingI was expecting this to be like the 'Bible Games' of old; but then it turned out to be a homage to Terry Gilliam. I'm definitely interested.

Yes, definitely more than a little Python/Jabberwocky vibe about this. I'm interested. Also, clever way to get gorgeous art assets on the cheap. Who knew there were artists before Disney locked everything down in copyright?

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Quoting: SalvatosWell, a lot of people here seemed to think he was too honest.

I think there's some disagreement about whether his call-out/s of the Linux community represent abrasive honesty (as Liam does) or are in fact somewhat disingenuous. I'm not sure myself, but I do think we need to start getting away from our half-instinctive idea that abrasiveness == honesty, since many of the biggest and most important liars these days are also some of the biggest trash-talkers.

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One thing to keep in mind about porting games is that profit is a net thing--sales minus expenses.
These Total War games have an engine and probably a bunch of other stuff in common. When you've ported a couple, porting the next one must be way easier and faster and cheaper, because you can re-use a bunch of your work. So why on earth would they skip any if there's a decent chance of sales? If they have any sense, at this point they will just port every Total War that comes out.

And since we want Feral to continue doing well, and since doing a Total War game probably only has an opportunity cost of maybe a third of a different kind of game (because it's so quick and easy to do), I'm getting kind of tired of so many people whining about them taking their guaranteed revenue.

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Quoting: g000hThis very thread has done a good job of demonstrating to me just how toxic members of the Linux gaming community are.

Here's a few points:

- Most of the complainants neither bought nor played the game, and have no investment in it whatsoever. (So why comment? Answer: Because you're a troll.)

Hmmm, yes, toxic, you make a good point. Like, calling everyone (such as specifically me) trolls. That does seem toxic.

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Quoting: nitroflow

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: nitroflow

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: rapakivBut I never seen so much hate in GOL as in this thread, relax, life is short, enjoy it

Hate? Really?! What bemuses me about this discussion actually is that the reaction is more extreme than the dislike of the actual developer. I don't really have a dog in this fight.

Really? What boggles my mind is that all the negativity comes from people that don't have a dog on this fight. The people that actually do play the game are understanding and sympathetic to the dev's decision, go figure...

Hrm. First, I notice you've redefined how I was using that phrase, such that your comment probably would have been better as a standalone than a reply to me.
Second, really? Have you been reading the same thread I have? I'd say it's pretty clear that some of the people who are bothered are in fact people who play the game. Others aren't, but your point is simply wrong. Also meant to be snide, far as I can tell. You can contribute to or detract from a conversation in two ways, content or tone; pity you chose to subtract on both fronts.

I've been very much reading the same thread, I believe, and the comment wasn't meant to be snide. It's really my take on this thread.

I replied to you because I do agree with you about this being an extreme reaction but that's not really what I find surprising at all, it's the people that don't seem to have the game(or if they have it they don't mention it anywhere) and the ones that were planning to buy it(which they still can), that are behind this extremism.

In hindsight I should have expanded on the "go figure...", what I meant by it was that those who have mentioned playing it actively are aware of the issues and thus have a better understanding of things, that's why they aren't crying bloody murder, unlike mostly everyone else.

PS: This whole reaction also started before the devs had a chance to comment on this.

Sorry I took it the wrong way and for coming down on you. Since I myself do not own the game and had mentioned as much, your comment felt somewhat like an attack, but I see that wasn't the intent.

Overall, my personal take is that on substance, the move seems fair enough, but in terms of how it was handled I'm unimpressed, both the initial failure to communicate and the whiny stuff about the Linux community.

I think what some businesspeople need to internalize is that customers, of any stripe whether Linux users or people buying carrots, fundamentally have little trust for the people selling to them, since they are aware that the point of the exercise is simply to gain as much of their money as possible for as little expense as possible. Unlike in normal personal interactions, as a business you have no benefit of the doubt--the base assumption, for good reason, is that you're probably trying to scam them some way. Therefore if you want people not to suspect you're pulling a fast one, you have to make extra efforts to communicate well and clearly just what you are doing when you make a move that affects them. This goes double for businesses operating at longer distances, online and such, where customers have no way to storm into your office and hold you to account and so have all the more reason for suspicion.

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Quoting: Whitewolfe80

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: Whitewolfe80As for the throw away community line we have this every so often it goes back to once again the linux die hards that think they throw f bombs and act like Stallman or Linus.

1. No it does not.
2. Had it occurred to you that that is, itself, a rather inflammatory and offensive comment?
3. Do you in fact have any idea how Stallman acts?

Yes because I have twitter and if he rants about open source one more time his neck is going to fall off or he will have a heart attack. Sorry we strongly disagree on this point and it does its is the guys that idenfy as linux hardcore are the worst. Feedback to developers strongly welcome not tweets like "learn to linux your game is shit" that is an actual tweet that took me 10 seconds to find on twitter

I frankly find it hard to believe that Richard Stallman would use Twitter, which is after all a proprietary platform. Plus it really doesn't suit his communication style--like me, he's too wordy. So if you have seen someone who purports to be Richard Stallman using Twitter, I think you have been deceived.
Edited to add: Apparently he does in a very limited way (thanks, tonR). But for practical purposes, no.
But I'll admit I may have somewhat misinterpreted your initial post. Your mention of learning from Stallman made it seem as if you were intending "linux die hards" to mean people who were politically big on Free/Libre Software, or mostly those people. But your quoted tweet obviously isn't remotely that kind of person, it's just the Linux equivalent of Mac types who say Windows Suxxorz or whatever--people who are extreme for their team, with no real content; it's just like rooting for your sports franchise. So perhaps you were not trying to say what it seemed you were trying to say.
However, you're still wrong. Every OS, every thing in existence where people can choose this or that, has people who are fanatical for the team. People dissing the Linux community do not do so because Linux does not miraculously lack that contingent. And it certainly has nothing to do with Richard Stallman. Linus . . . well, maybe a little, but not really. He doesn't always set the greatest example on temperate speech, but gamers can be profane without learning from Linus. Most of those people have no idea what Linus has ever said.

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Aaaargggghhhhh, no no no no!!!
So, uh, I work at a university library, eh? And, there's a kind of mini-neighbourhood of low-rises that's on university turf. So the corporate-style sloganeers in upper university management decided to call the development UniverCity. I try to forget that, I try to live it down, but nooo, it has to pop up just where I least expect it! Take it away, the stupid pseudo-clever name, it burns!!!

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