Quoting: Patola

Quoting: melkemindIt would be nice if these companies that want to see "demand" would actually do market research rather than just waiting to see how many people post on an isolated forum thread that many users may never even see.

It incurs additional cost. So the best way to start considering even if the market research for a port would be appropriate is a scenario with no cost that could supposedly could give a good enough approximation of the results.

Counter point to that, though, is if they wait until after release to bother with even looking into a Linux version, then the Linux release would be, at best, months out. This would loose them initial-release sales (seeing as most game distributions are rather unwilling to announce platform releases, only initial ones), as well as risk anyone interested in the game forgetting it even exists.

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Quoting: Eike

QuoteThey also said in that post, that they actually dropped some plugins that were blocking them from bringing it to Linux, so that's nice to know.

Sounds like they're serious about it...

If they were serious, why did they initially include those plugins at one point at all? If they were serious, why didn't they fully evaluate the engine they were using and it's ease of port for all platforms they intended to target for. If they were serious, why not just apologize that they screwed up (if Linux was their intent) instead of putting the blame on the engine? If Linux wasn't official or only an experiment, why tease us with a demo? That's like taking a kid down to Orlando Florida, driving past Disney, then mumbling "the car's out gas".

I really don't want to sound like one of "those Linux people" developers are always scared of, but let's face facts here. Linux will not be taken seriously as a game platform if we don't freaking grumble about developers pussyfooting around as they are. Linux as a stretch goal, Linux a little while after the Windows release, all of it excuses by developers who are too scared (whether financially or developmentally) or ignorant. People don't play games on Linux because most anything that looks good (almost) ALWAYS puts us second... and not just second in terms of a few days or weeks, but more often then not, months to YEARS. Who, other than an already converted Linux user, would ever want to consider a platform where the developers are that sketchy?

Personally, I think we should stop with the "at least they're trying" bullshiz and tell them the truth.
You know WHY you see such low sales in your Linux port (that came out months to years later because you didn't know what you were doing)? It's because, if we had any interest in your game at all, we've probably already WATCHED your game on Twitch or YouTube for that entire time. By the time you actually DO release on Linux, most have probably FORGOTTEN you even exist!

I'm not a fool. I know Windows has the biggest market share, but if the developer truly wants to support all three platforms (Win, Mac, Linux), then the hardest part is up front. Pick the tools and libraries/engines that work for all those platforms and develop them AT THE SAME TIME. Sure, it might extend the development time by a few months, so the developer needs to budget for that. If they can't, then they need to just admit that and quit with the "maybe" or "stretch goal" crap because... really... they don't care enough for those extras to begin with and they'll just piss the platform users off.

That's my two cents.

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Quoting: soulsourceWhat should I say?
There are two options, basically: Either developers frequently make and test builds for all platforms they are planning to support, or they don't. In the first case they are likely to release for all platforms they were planning, in the latter case those platforms for which they didn't make and test builds frequently will not be supported in the end (unless they invest extra time/money to effectively port their game).

I feel this is key. Those developers that develop for Windows first really only say that for two reasons. 1) They really have NO intention of porting to Linux and really just hope you forget about the project. 2) They have absolutely no idea how complex their project will be and seriously under-estimate a post development port.

I've only backed a couple of Kickstarter games, personally. One of the big things I consider when backing... Are they committing to a same day release (or, have a solid reason for staggering). If Linux is a "stretch goal" with ner a word regarding Linux throughout the description... it's a pass for me.

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I love Godot. I used it for my little platformer in the last Linux Game Jam a few months back and the engine just... worked for me!

Obviously everyone's mileage may vary depending on need, but it's a great engine and I love seeing it get better and better!!

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Personally, I feel "Open Source" is anathema to Microsoft. Open Source is to Microsoft what the poor are to most nations... they do all in their power to minimize it, mostly ignore it, and pray most don't even notice it's there.

That said... why would a company like MS want GitHub? I feel it might have something to do with the number of high profile public and private repos utilizing GitHub. Microsoft would now be able to more directly integrate their developer tools with GitHub, which, I feel, would be their way of making these developers more dependent on the Microsoft toolsets in the long term.

I'm probably overly paranoid in the short term. Long term, though...

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There are a lot of issues with VR that's going to keep it from mainstream for quite some time, IMHO

I bought a PSVR when it was released. It looks very nice and functions well enough, but... even after owning it over a year... it still suffers from positional drifting. I've asked others that own a PSVR and most of them say they suffer the same thing. No matter what I do, where I position the sensors, etc, drifting is not a matter of "if", but "when" and how extreme when it does happen. This is the entry level dedicated VR.

For me... a Linux guy... Occulus died the moment Facebook bought it. I bought and loved the Occulus DK1 prototype and it worked fairly well on Linux. After facebook bought it, Linux support all but died. Valve hasn't done much better, with the exception that they never actually promised Linux would have the VR (or did they?). Windows (of course) gets both these devices, but Occulus further ruins it by initially attempting to gate off it's content. Beyond even that, I still think the requirement for the rigs needed to run these VR bad boys are beyond even intermediate gamer level of cost.

So... given that dedicated VR for Linux is basically back to the whole "reverse engineering Windows-only libraries" of half a generation ago, MY dream of Linux VR has all but died. Maybe OpenHDM will have some significant strides and I can comfortably connect my PSVR to my computer... but I suspect that's going to be quite some time yet.

In terms of entry level VR via the Phone-as-a-HUD (PAAHUD? lol) setup... it's decent enough, but one still needs a fairly expensive phone... also... (having an expensive phone with Daydream) the f'ing drifting issue is still f'ing there! Oh... and did I mention the peripherals. Not nearly as bad as the dedicated VR devices, but still...

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Quoting: tmtvl

Quoting: ObsidianBlkIDK... while it's good to hear that Steam Marines is making profit from Linux, even after some time, I still have to wonder how much MORE profit they might have made via Linux had they released it at the same time as Windows.

Yeah, their Linux share might even be 5.1%! They'd pull in a whole $20 more.

Why the snark? Seriously. If you have a reason why you think what I said was wrong or that my idea that releasing a game at the same time wouldn't truly matter, then, by all means, explain.

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IDK... while it's good to hear that Steam Marines is making profit from Linux, even after some time, I still have to wonder how much MORE profit they might have made via Linux had they released it at the same time as Windows.

I honestly think these developers/publishers shoot themselves in the foot by releasing Linux versions months or years later (after hype, excitement, or even memory of their game has significantly dimmed). Then, these same "late to Linux" devs FINALLY release, then look at their sales numbers and say "hey... selling on Linux sucks!". It almost feels like they WANT to MAKE it look like Linux users don't bother with their games.

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I bought this a little while back and it can be both a very interesting game and, at times, tedious... but I've enjoyed it. My problem is I really don't get a feeling for scale in their build system (unless that's changed recently). I can't tell if I'm building too big or too small... I'm probably just not noticing a number somewhere, lol.

Worth a play for sandbox players, in my humble opinion!

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Quoting: liamdawe

Quoting: rustybroomhandleProtip for devs: There's ALWAYS demand for Linux builds. It's not an indicator of how well it will sell.

If you'd be ok with 1% Linux sales and ecstatic with 5%, then port it. That's the likely range you are looking at.

Correct. However, I still think it's a nice idea to show developers who want a little push that there is some form of demand.

To play devils advocate to this statement, the fact THIS site even exists should show developers there's "demand".

Truthfully, though... I generally feel insulted when developers "wait to see if there's demand". This kinda statement suggests to me that they REALLY DON'T WANT TO, buuuut, if they claim they're "thinking" about it, and never do, then they can simply blame US for the lack of a port. "Oh gee, I was really thinking I WOULD develop a Linux version, but, but, the community didn't DEMAND it, sooo... what's a poor little developer like me to do?!" Pfft.

I have far more respect for developers that either say "we don't have the funds" or "we'll revisit Linux after the initial release" or even "we have no plans for Linux right now". At least the onus is on THEM and they're generally upfront about their intent.

Anyway... that's my two cents.

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