Switching between BPM and desktop mode is much slower for me since the update. But CrossOver and GOG games work much better for me now, maybe due to proper driver support for Skylake and my GTX 1080 in my Zotac EN1080.

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Quoting: UltraAltesBrotThat means other Feral ports seem to have been a financial success.. which is good i guess?

We don't know that for sure. They might have been and we have seen some prominent Linux titles from Feral in the first quarter of 2017.

What worries me is Feral's upcoming games radar at the moment: There's not a single Linux AAA game.

Due to Apple's delayed Metal updates for macOS, Warhammer, Deus Ex, Hitman and Dirt Rally have been 'on hold' for months. Feral's next batch of titles are supposed to be F12016 and BioShock 1+2 Remastered (rumour) for macOS and GRID Autosport for iOS.

Aspyr also dropped Linux support for their next AAA port to Mac, which is Mafia III. Hopefully, this situation will change again and we'll see simultaneous Mac/Linux ports or even day 1 Linux versions thanks to Vulkan support of the original title.

My hopes for Feral on Linux: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Nier Automata and Shadow of War. Fingers crossed. ;-)

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Wow, that's very impressive! I've only played Mad Max a few hours so far.

It's already running quite good in 4K at very high settings under SteamOS, but's it's dropping under 60 fps at a few places -- especially if you try to run the game with vsync enabled.

Hardware: Skylake Core i7 3,4 GHz, GTX 1080, 32GB RAM, SteamOS 2.0

I'll try to install it on my elementary OS partition with proprietary Nvidia drivers. :-)

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Quoting: Alm888But I thought Feral Store is just Steam-keys re-seller. Am I right?

P.S. I wonder whether Feral will be able to easily maintain Mac releases profitable with Apple's Metal push (and OpenGL abandonment) or not... Current setup with "enemy of my enemy is also my enemy" with Direct3D 12 vs. Metal vs. Vulkan makes things extremely murky. Most probably Apple will pay developers for MacOS exclusives for the time being (till Metal gains enough of traction). Apple is not Valve, they will not repeat Gaben's mistake with SteamOS.

Yes. But if you buy a Steam key from Feral it counts as a Linux/Mac sale and they might even get a little bit more money for their efforts.

Back in the day I used to buy Feral's Mac games directly from their store on DVD. There was no DRM, just a simple CD-check. Nowadays you can get Feral's ports on the Mac App Store and Steam (Linux and Mac).

No porting company (except Aspyr's Bloober Team games) offers DRM-free titles on GOG or similar sites.

Regarding Apple and Metal: I'm not sure if they would ever buy "exclusive" Metal titles for the App Store. They have never been seriously interested in games. It's a good way to show off new OS features or their own Ax chips at WWDC, but most devs will be very happy to get some stage time at Apple events or a nice feature banner on the App store, which helps boosting sales.

Both Unity and Unreal Engine 4 offer Metal-support out of the box. Therefore I don't think Apple cares too much about Vulkan. iOS is still the most important mobile gaming platform in terms of revenue, so devs will support Metal no matter what. Android uses Vulkan, but all the mobile app developers I talk to on a regular basis make more money on Apple's storefront, even though the market share of iPhone and iPad is smaller.

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Quoting: Alm888I loathe the sole idea of all eggs in one basket! That one can be happy that all of the games are being provided by single publisher (be it Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Apple, Valve or whatever) which can single-handily decide what to sell and what not and how much take for itself (30%.. 40%? 90%! And what will you do about it? It is either you comply or GTFO!) and having the ability to "ban" users for whatever reason instantly stripping them from all purchases is mind-bogging to me!

That's why I'm all for Humble Bundle, GOG, itch.io, Desura (RIP!) and even self-distribution! PC is an Open Platform, not some walled garden.

It's a common misunderstanding macOS would be a "walled garden" like iOS or consoles. It is not and it never has been. Apple introduced the Mac App Store in January 2011, but you can buy, download or install applications from wherever you want as long as you checked the right box in your system security settings.

But the Mac App Store has been a blessing for less tech-savvy users like my wife if they want to download and install apps from an official, safe source without the risk of getting malware or being the victim of some shady online reseller (like key resellers).

Those storefronts are not for geeks like us, but they are important for mainstream adoption of an OS (or console).

Personally, I buy from GOG for both Mac and Linux (love their DRM-free DNA and business model!), directly from the Feral store (ports), Mac App Store, MacGameStore and Humble Bundle. Rarely off of Steam.

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Dear Alm,

don't worry -- I don't feel attacked at all, just having a serious conversation. I'm both a Linux and Mac user (Desktop: elementary OS + SteamOS, Laptop: macOS).

To put it straight: Jonathan Blow only released the macOS-version of "The Witness" on the Mac App Store first. The Windows version has been out on Steam for quite some time. I'm pretty sure Apple didn't pay any money at all for exclusivity. That's not how they roll. Maybe with one exception: Super Mario Run on iOS.

My point is: The Mac App Store (MAS) is a storefront only for Mac apps. Revenue is clearly coming from Apple users. If you're a developer and enough people buy your app from there, it's a pretty good indication that Mac development is profitable (or at least break-even) for you.

There is no such thing as the MAS on Linux. Ubuntu's Software Center or elementary's App Center are not comparable at all, because they mainly consist of open-source or non-commercial applications.

To be considered a "viable" platform for commercial software development (such as games) -- Linux needs a well-curated and managed storefront for apps (not only games). Steam partly offers that for games, but the "buy once, play everywhere" approach of Steamplay is counter-productive to the business model of the current porting companies.

And as long as no big publisher (EA, 2K, Ubi, etc) is considering Linux as a relevant platform the whole Linux AAA games market depends on the well-being of porting houses such as Aspyr, Feral and Virtual Programming.

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It's not about 3.5 % or 5 % desktop market share for macOS -- it's about profitability of a certain market segment and if people are willing to pay for a product.

If one buys a product from the Mac App Store, the developers know it's a Mac and not a Windows or Linux sale. That's important for internal calculations and business decisions within a company.

Apple users seem to spend more on apps and games than the average Linux user. It's the same in the mobile market: iOS is a giant market and more profitable than Android -- even though the latter is much bigger in numbers. Fragmentation of systems doesn't help devs at all (I'm from a startup/mobile background, developing both for Android and iOS).

That's one of the major reasons why SteamOS is so important for Linux to have a realistic chance as a gaming platform. It's one target distribution instead of a hundred.

It's not only about market share and sheer numbers -- mind share and image among developers and users is also very important for an OS to survive and thrive.

Guys like Jonathan Blow might seem to be arrogant or pretentious to you -- but these are smart people and it's sad they don't think of Linux as a "viable" and profitable option for their games.

Don't you think there are some correlations with the "attitude" some people show in this thread (and on Steam forums) regarding Linux ports or porting companies in general?

Ask Feral why they ported Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition to Mac but not Linux, why there's no LEGO or family-themed game from them on the platform, etc.?

I'll give you a hint: Sales potential and the structure/mindset of the Linux demographic/market might be a factor. That's why Liam fears for the platform and he's spot on in his article.

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I'm not making things up -- I'm just stating facts, not alternative ones, directly from the horse's mouth.

Do you guys even read Aspyr's or Feral's Facebook pages, are you subscribed to their newsletters?

Aspyr Facebook on December 22, 2016: "Linux users... I love you. There has been some talk about linux, but there is nothing in the works."

They repeated this statement several times on their social media channels using different formulations, but it's basically: "We talked it about it (with the publisher), but it won't happen".

Just to remind you:

Aspyr released KotOR II on Mac on Linux simultaneously. In October 2016 they brought Jade Empire Special Edition to Mac and iOS -- not Linux -- and exclusively through Apple's storefronts (Mac and iOS App Store). The game is not even on Steam (most likely due to SteamPlay concerns).

Of course, these are just re-releases of older classics, but still: Why did they bother to bring Fahrenheit and KotOR II over to Linux and now they're scaling their business model back to Mac and iOS ports (and delayed Linux releases like Civ VI)?

Porters need to get paid and at least break-even with their titles. It's easier to do that without SteamPlay and a viable user base/market size (see Feral releasing Life Is Strange timed-exclusive on the Mac App Store or Aspyr's recent titles).

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People not willing to pay for essential work like converting or partly rebuilding a DirectX-based game for OpenGL or Vulkan and play-testing on several distributions is both sad and frustrating to see.

As long as the attitude of some Linux users (both new and veteran) regarding this topic is not changing, I'm afraid Linux gaming will remain a tiny niche even compared to Mac gaming.

To give you 3 current examples:

1. Aspyr pitched both a Mac and Linux version of Mafia III to 2K. They agreed on macOS, but were not interested in the Linux market.

2. Jonathan Blow released the Mac version of The Witness using the Metal-API a few days ago on the Mac App Store first (self-published), Steam will follow later. Some people on Twitter and I guess reddit asked him for a Linux version. He basically answered "no one would buy them anyway as Braid didn't make any money on Linux".

3. Double Fine released Headlander for Mac using Apple's Metal-API and denied plans for Linux support because Adult Swim doesn't see its viability. The game was built for DirectX and Metal only -- no OpenGL or Vulkan support.

This might change as soon as more companies start to build their games from scratch using Vulkan instead of DirectX 12.

But for the moment, Apple's decision to axe OpenGL and go Metal-only on macOS and iOS hurts Linux gaming more than some people might admit.

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Quoting: t3gNo.

I have games that I bought prior to Linux gaming and won't pay extra. Especially for ports that perform much worse than the Windows one.

If that happens, ill just game on Windows 100%

Then you're not part of the solution, at least not given the current market circumstances. It's a chicken-and-egg situation: As long as there are porting companies their employees need to be paid.

No porters, no games, at least until Vulkan is ready and all the big publishers embrace it for their AAA titles. Indies are different because they're mostly using Unity anyway.

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