Hello, Could we have some clarity regarding Linux support ? The game is supposed to support all 3 main PC systems : Windows, Mac and Linux. The ship viewer, unless i've missed something, is only avalaible on Windows. The beta is announced for Windows and Mac, the last trailer doesn't mention Linux. I previously asked if Linux will be supported day 1, even for Alpha/Beta stages, the answer was Yes. Thanks for your consideration
I used to use Linux '98 thru '06 on one of my systems, but if you're a gamer why would you still be stuck on Linux?
I don't want to have an OS war. I'm a gamer, but not only. I used to be Windows only, then dual boot, a few years ago then Linux only about 2-3 years ago, as the only reason i'd boot Windows would be a few games. Linux satisfied me, and i can play plenty of games natively without trouble. I just want some clarity on Linux support related to Space Wars, as it was advertized to support Linux, and i backed it because of it. Understand i'm not mad at all, i simply want some clear point on it, from an official brain.
Thank you for your question. Linux is a OS we want to look into supporting, but at the moment its support would delay the general production of the game. For the time being Linux support is on hold until we get the main game locked down and major development has been completed. This is why it has not been mentioned recently. Our chief concern with Linux is compatibility issues which is a very time intensive process.
Alright, i can understand this, however it also means you will "port the game", not "develop the game" on Linux. Several other studios said the process of multidev is longer, but the end result is better for everyone, as they had to be carefull all along the process. At the end the Windows version also benefits from Linux, with better perf and cleaner code. I hope it will at least be on release, not several weeks or months later.
Technically, it would not be a port because the engine we are using does have the proper hooks for Linux, but with any operating system there are specific quarks that can come up that need to be addressed. In the grand scope it takes less time for us to finish the PC version and then hammer out the specific Linux idiosyncrasies rather than having to do that simultaneously with the PC. Mac support is slightly different because there isn't that much of a split from PC to Mac than PC to Linux. You are correct that the end results would be better for everyone.
Whatever you decide, as long as it comes to Linux when it's ready, i'm fine. I think you are doing a quite unique game, and it's worth waiting for its completion. Oh, and Linux is PC, as much as Windows, and even Mac. Not sure when the propaganda Windows = PC went wild, but they surely are effective... Cheers, and thanks for your input about Linux and Mac versions. I'm also curious to see other Linux users opinions, and what will be the ratio of players between the supported OS. Some indi games have up to 15% Linux out of Steam, DRM Free from the dev's website directly, whereas some others on Steam have less than 0,1%.
There are a lot of similarity between the OS structure of Windows and Linux, but it also depends on how much the engine native supports versus needing custom support. Also, there are a lot more variations and code splits between all the different versions of Linux. These are all aspect we are taking into consideration. Depending on the type of game the interest of Linux users can vary widely.
Hello, Is Linux on the horizon ? How far ? WINE is not an option, the perf are terrible, and well, it's not Linux. Thanks
Hello, The focus for the moment is on completing features and gameplay polish. Linux support isn't in the current development purview, but it is on our radar for broadening platform support.
