It's an interesting concept, but maybe not such a great long-term business model.

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Quoting: BillNyeTheBlackGuy

Quoting: melkemindAnother problems is the sub-standard performance of Unity games on Linux. Wouldn't a Linux developer choose an engine that runs better on their own platform?

Unity 5 performance is actually ok on Linux. Hate of Fate for examples runs perfectly on my aging hardware

I never suggested performance wasn't "ok". Every Unity-based game I've played except for Son of Nor has been adequate and playable. I just said performance is significantly lower than the same games on Windows.

For now that might be acceptable to lifelong Linux users, but I know people who are seriously considering switching to SteamOS when it's released under the assumption that it will be a better experience than Windows (especially with Valve showing Left 4 Dead 2 running so much better on Linux). Those new users will have no reason to stick around if they find most games run better on Windows, even if it's not the fault of SteamOS.

I think the problem is definitely fixable. The Unity devs just have to be willing.

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Distance is now updating to Unity 5. I don't know anything about the technical details, but you can try the experimental build. I did, however, decide to test it on both Linux and Windows. With high settings (and a few on medium) with real-time reflections off, I was getting between 39 and 64 fps on Linux. With the same machine on Windows, everything maxed (except real-time reflections on medium), I was consistently over 100 fps.

The question, as stated above of course, is whether that's something the devs themselves can fix or if it's something that needs fixing in Unity. One could blame it on the drivers, OpenGL or Linux itself, but that doesn't hold weight when you see how well certain more graphically demanding games run on it.

Anyway, maybe having more devs who are familiar with Linux working on Unity games will help educate people on how to improve performance on it.

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Another problems is the sub-standard performance of Unity games on Linux. Wouldn't a Linux developer choose an engine that runs better on their own platform?

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Quoting: PUNWhat engine does it use?

It uses the same in-house engine as Tropico 5. It runs very well on my rig. I've tested it on both a GTX 660 and 970 with most or all settings maxed, 1080@60fps. When you play it, you can tell it's not a third-party port. It feels right at home on Linux.

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Quoting: MayeulCI played DIRT 2, and I quite enjoyed it (excepted the part that I only had a PC keyboard, so it was really hard ^^)
But looking at this trailer... I don't really like the music, the cars (and their decorations), the trailer is at 720p, and it looks like they haven't even turned AA on for the trailer :-/ Disappointing.
So, let's just wait and see, I look forward to your review, Liam.

Graphically, the game is actually superior to Dirt 2 in that it's newer and has a few extra effects. Codemasters definitely knows how to make PC games with plenty of fine-tuning options. The trailer was probably catering to the Xbox 360 crowd.

As far as gameplay goes, don't expect anything like Dirt 2 at all. Showdown is basically like a demolition derby style of game. It's just arcade fun. It also supports local splitscreen multiplayer, something Dirt 2 does not have. This game wasn't meant to be a sequel but rather a different style of driving with lots of collisions and events like "knockout" where you try to push another car out of a ring.

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Quoting: Bumadar

Quoting: supermonkey77As long as it runs at 60fps on midrange hardware (as all racing games should), I'm a happy camper.

at 640x480 with all settings on low I asume ?....... I agree on the 60fps part, the midrange hardware is a bit far fetched though

On Windows the game can run on high settings and 1920x1080 at 60 fps on midrange hardware (i3 with a GTX 660).

Also, keep in mind Feral is doing the port for Grid: Autosport, which has the same dev as DiRT: Showdown. They announced the Grid port quite a while ago, so I doubt they'd start porting another game they haven't even announced before they finish Grid. I could be totally wrong though.

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Someone who bought the game on Steam says that it won't launch [External Link]. The response is somewhat troubling:

Hi!

Currently the game is only officially supported through the Linux based Steam OS but may run on other distributions through emulators such as Wine. I hope this information helps!

Should we expect to see more of this? Also, what are they doing to cause it to work on SteamOS but not Ubuntu?

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He sounds like he's about 14 (not an insult). The game looks very relaxing, even if it just involved flying around aimlessly.

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I've been loving this game for quite a while. It's one of my top 10 on Linux.

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