Quoting: ShmerlI didn't mean one install fit all. They usually dedicate a package for each OS anyway. One install for Linux distros would work perfectly though. Simply put the game in one location, put a couple of dosbox conf files which point there and mount some iso image (that's common for CD based DosBox games), and create a .desktop file that does something like:

dosbox -conf <conf1> -conf <conf2>

That's it. They can even display a message if DosBox is missing, saying something - Please install DosBox first.

That's basically what I do with DosBox games from GOG now anyway:

1. Extract the Windows installer with innoextract.
2. Place the files in one location, delete all the bundled stuff like Windows build of DosBox and whatever else not from the game itself.
3. Adjust shipped .conf files to use POSIX path syntax and selected location (GOG usually packages 2 conf files).
4. Create .desktop file with dosbox -conf <conf1> -conf <conf2>

All that would work on any distro, I bet.

Rarely you might need adjusting some settings like from:
output=ddraw

to:
output=opengl

That's what GOG would do with dedicated conf files for each OS.

"That's it. They can even display a message if DosBox is missing, saying something - Please install DosBox first."
That would be treating their Linux users differently from their Windows and Mac OSX users. From everything that GOG is saying there is no way they would want to do that and why should they?

Edit:

Bumadar is exactly correct.

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" The point of limited activations is by far not the worst point in DRM."

For me this is exactly the worst thing. I will not buy a game that has limited activations,  constant online DRM or intermittent online DRM(online authentication every 24 hours or the like) or similar. That is where I draw the line. I don't care about the more or less paranoid privacy aspects. That is not to say I don't care about privacy, I certainly do. But I don't see the issue with authenticating a game online once, when it is installed. Where is the privacy concern in that? it is meant as (IMHO ineffective, meaningless) anti piracy measure. That is it. I would want to so some really good evidence in order to believe that Valve are abusing it to gain access to sensitive information.

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Quoting: Shmerl

Quoting: SilviuI've got  Deus Ex on Steam. The only time I needed Steam to download it was on initial download. It does not need Steam to actually run. Back it up and that's it. No need to ever install Steam again. Keep the archive safe. Just because you have to sign on for a service does not mean it's DRM.

It's like complaining that you have to log on GOG's site to be able to download games.

Well, if you can simply archive the game directory and use it as a backup for further installs, then it's not as bad. But is it true for all Steam games? And if so, why don't they offer to download an archive? Another big downside there is that they don't inform you what kind of DRM (if any) is involved. Desura for example do it (even though most of their games are DRM free).

[What is this I am seeing here then?: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/987/ [External Link]](http://store.steampowered.com/sub/987/):

"3rd-party DRM: SecuROM™
5 machine activation limit"

It is true that this is not on EVERY game with 3rd party DRM but that likely comes down to the publisher or developer not providing that info and while games that only use Steamworks DRM won't typically list that as it isn't 3rd party and is the default way of doing things on Steam(so is implicitly assumed to be the case unless stated otherwise), Valve's own Half-Life 2 has the following on system requirements listed on its Steam store page:

Internet Connection

That is despite it not requiring a constant internet connection as Steam has an offline mode fully supported by Half-Life 2. In fact I loose my connection all the time and 100% of the time I have been able to play my Steam games without any issue whatsoever. 

Steam automatically goes in to offline mode when it is unable to connect. But since you require an Internet Connection for installs they list that as part of the system requirements.

Edit:

Half-Life 2 Steam store page. [External Link]

Also notice that Steam's own standard DRM does NOT come with any activation limits at all. You can activate/authenticate and install games using it on as many systems as you like, however you can only play on one system AT THE SAME time.

Edit2:

I should also add that Steam has a backup feature that allows backups to optical media and external HDD's and the like. So you can use that as your installation media in the future(though you still need the online authentication at the end).

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Quoting: Shmerl

Quoting: HamishBesides, GoG games do not tie into one central Dosbox install when they sell their games anyway, but ship with a custom configured executable with each game purchase. Can you imagine the trouble that would cause if it did? Just because Linux has a packaging system does not mean you need to do that level of dependent insanity.

Which is rather silly and is caused by the lack of any packaging system on Windows. On Linux they have no need to package DosBox and ScummVM for each DOS game - it's pointless, they can use distro's emualtors and ship only config files.

But those games aren't really the main focus in this issue. Native Linux games are. And for them as you said, many packaging solutions are developed already.

Well getting their Dosbox library to Linux would probably be very easy and could be a good start of moving GOG to Linux. The two most wanted things for them to do in regards to Linux is to package their Dosbox(and ScummVM, etc) games for Linux and to add installers/binaries for games that already have them. As for why they package Dosbox with each game? To make sure those who buy the game can run it out of the box. 

They can't be sure that you have Dosbox installed and without using (several) distro depended package managers they can't do that on Linux either(Does Dosbox even have packages?). 

The ideal for a company like GOG is that you can use only one installer or similar on any Linux system using any (supported) distro and it will just work. They would want game installation to be a self-contained thing that any "noob"(and there ARE Linux "noobs" ) could do. 

Personally I don't see why things should have to be any harder on the Linux side than on the Windows side but I also can't think of any technical reason for why things couldn't be just as a easy and universal on the Linux side.

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Quoting: abelthorne

Quoting: Silviu

Quoting: abelthorneIIRC, GOG had an interview last year (when they released games for MacOS) where they explained that they'd like to support Linux, they've looked into it but at the time they didn't have a proper solution for distributing the games because of the various distros which have several packages formats and such.

One can always make up excuses for not doing something. Valve does not seem to have that problem and Linux games downloaded through the Steam client are distro agnostic. Developers don't need to touch the packaging system of any distribution.

That's the point: Valve has its own client that manages games and has its own "packaging" format that don't follow the Linux guidelines. To play Steam games, you have to use the Steam client.

GOG doesn't use a client, it lets users download standard installers. On Windows & MacOS, there is a standard way to install games. On Linux, we have separated admin and user data, with software installation being handled by the admin (or a user that can obtain the required privileges) and not supposed to be installed in the user dir, multiple packaging formats depending on the distro being used... If GOG wanted to provide Linux versions of games, they'd had to choose how to do it: provide every format imaginable (DEB package + RPM package + .tar.gz archive + other eventual formats)? provide only a .tar.gz archive (which isn't user-friendly at all)? provide an installation script ? How do they handle the dependancies (libs or DOSBox for old DOS games)?

Linux is a great OS but its diversity and lack of standardisation can be a bad thing at times: while free/open source software can be released in a basic form and let the distros maintainers package it for easy installation, it's the opposite for closed/commercial software that has to be handled by a publisher.

It is all just a bunch of excuses. Tonnes of development studios and publishers have released Linux version no problem. GOG could find a way. Want to officially support only one distro? Fine. Want to provide unsupported installers for Linux as extras? Fine. They don't have to do it in a certain way. But no, they decide if they can't support the Rasperry Pi they can't support Linux. That is an excuse. Nothing more, nothing less. They have a blind spot for Linux as far as rational decision making goes. They positively want to have an inferior version of games like The Book of Unwritten Tales. They see not supporting Linux as a badge of honor, as a goal in it self.  
I would love to see GOG's reaction if some indie studio decided to hide Linux binaries in the GOG version of their game. They would probably stop selling that game or remove the hidden Linux version or something.

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Quoting: Hamish

Quoting: n30p1r4t3And you guys have to know: I grew up with the XBOX (Halo, etc.). So that's the type of video games that I enjoy (AAA).

Alright, that is fair enough. But I grew up playing games like Doom, which means I enjoy games that do not require an internet activation, are cross-platform, and are modder and gamer friendly. That is what shareware games offered then and Indie games offer today, something which is lacking from most modern AAA offerings.

 Any recommendations as far as the modder friendly + cross platform combo goes?

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I have decided to not ignore partially or wholly Windows or Steam bundles any more but I never give a Humble tip and in this case since it was the worse kind 100% Steam only AND 100% Windows only at the same time I didn't give Deep Silver a cent. So 100% of my $26 contribution went to charity.

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So a week to get it up to a stable point without SDK2013. Didn't the Black Mesa guy's claim that was pretty complex? Is Black Mesa just a that much more complex mod? or does this increase the likelihood that we will see Black Mesa as well?

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Quoting: Anonymous

Quoting: Mike FrettHe keeps saying Humble Bundle, yet they've been quite Linux unfriendly as of late. Also, who knows how well Steam Box will do if at all. These things could be deciding factors as to a continuation Linux Games, and if they fail; I would hate to see what happens to us.

Humble bundle allowed most of linux games to be ported. They introduice windows/mac only bundles of already existing games but they still push new games to be ported on linux, "main" bundles are always cross-platform. If you are unhappy with the fact some bundles are not ported on linux, just do like I do… don't buy it and wait for the linux ports =]

That main bundle thing is a distinction that doesn't matter much at all. If they have a hard time convincing a dev studio or publisher to join of the "main"/"Humble Indie Bundles" then they can just rename the bundle they appear in, lets say the "Humble FPS Bundle" for example could a future one. The whole only the "main" bundles were promised to be cross-platform and DRM free is rationalization. Their were more than one bundle not called "Humble Indie Bundle" that was 100% cross platform and DRM free prior to the Humble THQ Bundle. So that exception is a recent thing and did not exist from the start.

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Antonio Sanchez responded to my inquiry with regards to this:

"My current build is in UDK, yes. I was first going to make the UDK version for PC and MAC and then. Do a Linux version in the Unity Engine. I should have corrected that"

So he is talking about using two different engines. So basically two different games. Color me skeptical!

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