I agree.  I've asked them, anyway.  We'll see what they say :-)

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They also have a Humble Widget at http://www.spacebasedf9.com/buy [External Link] which may have binaries on it as well.  Note that you cannot select any of the higher-tier rewards through Steam (perhaps that bit is worth an article edit?), including keys to the other Double Fine games, access to the prototype, getting your name in the game credits, and (coolest of all) having your name added to the citizens name list so that they can randomly pop up during gameplay (like Notch in FTL).  There are also physical rewards, specifically posters and art prints.

This one started as a very promising Amnesia Fortnight pitch... one that I was not interested very much in, from the original pitch.  As the Fortnight gamejam unfolded, it became more awesome, until I could actually see the "Dwarf Fortress" in it.  Now, I'm certain I'd play the heck out of it, it's right up my alley.

I'll try to confirm whether or not Linux binaries will appear in the Humble storefront version, or if it's essentially vending a Steam key.  I should mention, this is the first time I've seen a Humble Widget which was clicked-through to, rather than appearing in the standard widget box.  It's all custom & stuff...

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WOW, couldn't care less about B4 (B5?) personally, because it's an FPS, but this is amazing anyway.  Also, it's somewhat insightful, something I rarely expect from a huge published studio.  I think he's totally right, regarding the "killer app" that gets folks to switch to Linux.  What I've observed in my decades running it is that it tends to be a slightly different thing for each person, which isn't really terribly surprising, considering that it is the lynchpin of an OS ecosystem based on choice.

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Quoting: Quote from Hamish

Quoting: Quote from Anonymousif some games will work in SteamOS and not in other distros, what is the problem? SteamOS will be free, so we can continue with our preferred distro (Ubuntu, Arch, Gentoo, etc...) and install it too

And here I was thinking the reason why people were celebrating was because they no longer felt compelled to dual boot...

I agree.

However, I'll dual-boot another distro any day of the week over a paid-for commercial OS (though UEFI secure boot can be an annoyance, regardless).

If we see studios willing to take on Linux porting in general, as long as they consider SteamOS to be one of multiple Linux targets, is a nice thing to see.  To that end, we have seen some developers claim to have chosen to take on Linux porting, in addition to SteamOS, because of SteamOS, and when that happens it makes me happier.  Of course, there are some who have taken on Linux porting, but do so for Steam exclusively, which makes me less happy.

To me, a developer's choice to exclusively develop for SteamOS is only slightly worse than developing for Linux exclusively on Steam (i.e., no direct purchases, Desura, or other DRM-free store).  Either way, it's tied to Steam, which has so far offered little that I'm interested in, personally.

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Quoting: Quote from Anonymous

Quoting: Quote from s_dI think there's a only a tiny chance of these games being ported, personally.

[...]

Also, there have been zero Linux titles on Gamebryo (despite it being listed as a potential platform for it), so that makes me highly skeptical of Civ V.

AFAIK Civilization V is not using the Gamebryo engine. It's a custom engine from scratch.

Thank you, Anon. I stand corrected.

Apon further research, I find that Gamebryo (from Civ IV) was only used during development.  As others have stated, being on OS X means some subset of OpenGL support, and it may very well not be using any unportable middle-ware.  Unfortunately, the OS X port contracted out to Aspyr (so Firaxis employees may not even be familiar with the code from the port), and it also means that there is no engine vendor supporting Linux to ask for assistance, so it's all on the studio itself to do it.  I'm not sure whether or not that makes a port less likely, but it certainly doesn't seem to make it more likely.

I suppose the next move is Valve's  :)

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I think there's a only a tiny chance of these games being ported, personally.

If you dig into Icculus's statement about UE3 ports, you'll realize that it's a patchwork of this and that, due to Epic's frequent code drops (probably to address issues found by their big licensees).  It's my feeling that (despite his modesty on the subject) any UE2.5/UE3 port he's done is 40% OpenGL already working, and 60% Icculus doing what he does (chiefly porting the rest to SDL/OpenAL, I would think).

Also, there have been zero Linux titles on Gamebryo (despite it being listed as a potential platform for it), so that makes me highly skeptical of Civ V.

That said, Valve did promise AAA's, and it seems that UE3 is among the commercial engines closest to making that possible.

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Quoting: Quote from SslaxxI'm not even sure they'd have officially supported Linux (as opposed to it having prior been an unofficial in-development thing) if it hadn't been for Wasteland 2. Maybe we need to try and get people like Brian Fargo et al involved?

Totally agree.  They pretty much blew us off for nearly a decade with Linux export as the highest voted feature, until magically they claimed to have it "in the works" and ready for Unity 4.  As a "preview".  Right after Wasteland 2 completes it's funding and announces their engine.

We think 4k votes looks nice?  Try 14k for Linux engine support.

I remember folks trying to explain the value proposition to them in one huge ~500 post thread (and getting trolled really hard, regardless of whether or not they were coherent): http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/915-Linux-Support-D [External Link]

I don't think they really care much about us, to be honest (except their Linux liaison, NaTosha Bard, who seems to actually be a Linux gamer herself, as well as a dev).  To me, they seem more to be satisfying their contractual obligations to their licensees.

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Monsters Unlimited link is busted

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Quoting: Quote from liamdawe

Quoting: Quote from mannyso is city of titans going to be on linux ?

they just added a kickstarter

I would be surprised if it didn't support Linux to quote the page:

Quoting: QuoteWe are lucky enough to have Nate “Doctor Tyche” Downes, our tech lead – one of the founding developers of Gentoo Linux

I have sent them a question to ask so we can be sure.

Yes,  I did also, and Nate did reply to me. He did not, however give me permission to quote his reply here on GOL, stating that they'd need to run their messaging by the team's editors.  He did say that the KS project FAQ would be updated as soon as they sign off on it.

I hate to be cryptic, but I did ask permission, and he neither said yes nor no, and I take that kind of thing seriously.

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Just received my download key for this game... now I only need some time to actually play it!

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