It's a shame, but developers like these (and many others) are killing Crowd Funding for Linux supporters. There's just no point in supporting a multi-platform Kickstarter if you're Linux only.

Very frustrating. I think it's time to change tact. Don't ask for "Linux support", ask specifically for "simultaneous launch".

Sad.

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Quoting: JoeAlways sad to see in what dreadful state 99% of open source games are in regard to visual content.

99%? You're wildly pessimistic. Nearer 30%-50% based on this article. FreeCiv, Stunt Rally, Xonotic, Wesnoth, Dark Mod, Speed Dreams, Suna all look pretty damn incredible for "absolutely free".

As for the games list, I'm not if this perfectly qualifies, since it's an open source graphics engine, but DXx-Rebirth is a fantastic remake of the Descent games - but like ScummVM, you need the game assets from a purchased version of the game to get it to run.

http://dxx-rebirth.com/ [External Link]

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Good to see that these guys made it. We covered them in TFC#25 - http://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/the-funding-crowd-26-dec-18th-jan-10th.2928 and between the point I researched the title and wrote the entry, they'd cancelled the campaign! Such is the exciting life of a crowd funded campaign!

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Quoting: Bons

Sadly It seems to be an ever-more frequent occuring issue for us Linux gamers, hitting stretch goals required of us, voting our support for developers on greenlight and versions being delayed or never appearing.

I Agree with this, it seems that this is happening more often. So Much devs promise Linux support for extra votes/stretch goal, but an Linux port never comes. and when you asked how the linux port is doing, they not respond or they have an another excuse to not port the game after all :(.

Part of that is probably our fault. Y U NO SUPPORT TEH LINUX!, we shout angrily. Then, as damage limitation, as the rumble grows, they look into it and think Linux support = more pledges. But they're not invested in Linux as a platform.

Still, a promise is a promise. Kickstarter needs to think about some kind of tracking and accountability for these promises. If a studio announces Linux support (or generally "makes a promise" ) that they then fail to deliver, then that studio should have their account suspended by Kickstarter thereafter.

But Kickstarter aren't interested in cutting off their own revenue stream, so this kind of stuff keeps happening.

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Quoting: edgley

Quoting: scaineIf you ever got a chance to try it, you'd understand. It's fundamentally a new experience. Really, really game-changing. I was same - very sceptical. Then I tried it and if I'd had $300 there and then, I'd have bought one. Simple as that. It's that amazing.

Or rather, it /will be/ that amazing, because there are still a few kinks to iron out.

I wouldn't agree with that. Tried it for long enough to know that I really don't care for it; it's a gimmick more than anything else. Your hands are still tied to some controller and you're sitting down, so the immersion is immediately removed.

I know the "release" versions were expected to be better, but the quality of the screens was also difficult to adjust to, all I could ever see was scan lines and the awkward FOV (that was either too narrow or too warped).

I was really hyped before I tried it out -- though fortunately, I didn't actually invest in it.

Sounds like we came at from different expectation. You were hyped and left disappointed. I was sceptical and left hyped.

We agree that the initial version didn't cut it. Poor resolution and a tiny, but noticable, lag made the experience just short of "immersive". But that will change.

Remember Wolfenstein for the first time? Remember how, despite the ridiculously poor graphics, you still felt that this, right here, was a game changer? Then Doom came along. Then Hexen, Quake, Half Life and the rest is history. That's the journey the Rift started.

But succeed or fail, I'm most pissed about the damage they've done to Kickstarter. Pledges on Kickstarter don't give you any leverage, but the engagement and communication give you the illusion of leverage. OR has destroyed that now. No one will trust a hardware-based kickstarter after this. No one with any sense that is.

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Quoting: WorMzyI don't get the excitement or need for VR in the first place.

Facebook taking over Oculus is no big loss as far as I'm concerned.

If you ever got a chance to try it, you'd understand. It's fundamentally a new experience. Really, really game-changing. I was same - very sceptical. Then I tried it and if I'd had $300 there and then, I'd have bought one. Simple as that. It's that amazing.

Or rather, it /will be/ that amazing, because there are still a few kinks to iron out.

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This is incredibly damaging to Kickstarter. I suspect that most hardware based Kickstarter campaigns will now face a torrent of cynicism as a result of this. Kickstarters have a hard enough time gaining trust in the face of the Ouya shenanigans - I hope I'm wrong, but this could wreck everything.

As for Oculus itself... I was about to pre-order the crystal cove edition just last weekend. Glad I didn't, and I won't be touching it now. I suspect that continuing Oculus as an open platform died with this announcement.

Finally, what will Valve do? They've staked their colours to VR as the future of gaming. I guess they'll revive their own headset (assuming they buried it in the first place) and sell it as a Steam Machine peripheral. Hopefully it will remain open and cross platform.

What a mess.

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Yep, I've pretty much condemned these devs for their treatment of the Linux port. It's basically a promise, broken. Or as I like to call it, a "lie".

You do run the same risk with Kickstarter though - the Fun Pimps have utterly failed to bring 7 Days to Die to Linux despite it being a clearly supported platform on the campaign. And let's not forget Contagion which is looking like another dubious promise. Despite promising Linux support on a stretch goal, no word. Due for release April 11th now and still no word.

7 Days to Die - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/7daystodie/7-days-to-die-zombie-survival-game [External Link]

Contagion - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/monochromellc/contagion [External Link]

[edit : Contagtion devs sticking to their original promise. Fingers crossed. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/monochromellc/contagion/posts/768189 [External Link]]

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Looks good. I played a lot of Dungelot on Android, and this is very nearly the exact same game with some stylistic differences. In Dungelot, for example, you don't level up as you play, but instead use the gold from one run to power up your next attempt (much like Rogue Legacy actually).

I'm a sucker for these types of RPG-lite games, so I think I might have to fire up the old Desura client for the first time in a long time!

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Good to see Tower of Elements on there. I pledged to that Tabletop Simulator too - I didn't realise they were aiming for Greenlight!

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