Developers don't use Linux regularly (on average) so players are more informed of problems/solutions then them. Even translating what a Linux player has in a bug report they send to a developer can be a challenge. Many game developers are not even super users so getting around on a Linux distro can be a challenge to the average developer. Debugging tools are foreign and primitive compared to what Windows/Mac developers are used to. Even then there is always some amount of extra effort and without the fiscal motivation (large game sale potential) Linux ports will rank lower in priority.Īaron Melcher: Actually developing/testing on target Linux distributions. We see hard examples of this from engines that have a Linux export target (Unity, Gamemaker, etc.). The less friction involved with compiling a Linux executable the more likely there is a day one Linux release.
#Xenonauts 2 nda windows#
Almost all other target platforms for games can be developed and deployed from a windows dev machine. Be able to easily develop Linux ports on Windows. Almost all of my ports are for games that have been proven successful and can afford to release a Linux version.Īaron Melcher: Plan for the port realistically. If the developer has to chose to cut a game feature OR the Linux port, the Linux port will always be cut/delayed. To hit release windows things have to get cut. There is no grantee that a game is successful and timing is everything. Notable Linux ports include: Xenonauts, SOMA, Shadow Warrior, Darkest Dungeon and more.Īaron Melcher: All other platforms have better total sales. The next 90% of the work is rewriting the renderer.Īnd now we have Aaron Melcher of Knockout Games. Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: The first 90% of the work is getting it to compile at all. What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux? (I usually have a lecture here about "use SDL, OpenGL, OpenAL, scripting languages, etc".but honestly, the companies building big big games are way past the point where this advice is going to help.) If this is a small indie game, this advice isn't so important. If you wrote your own engine for a AAA-level game, expect a port of it to take 6 to 12 months. If you're building something big and complex, use Unity or Unreal Engine 4 so most of the heavy lifting is already done, and the Linux guy is mostly fixing and polishing instead of rewriting large pieces of complex code. All the hard hard work is getting the thing to run with OpenGL. Don't make a game that depends on Direct3D. Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: The rare times where I shipped at the same time as the Windows version, it was because I was working with the team before they shipped, and was making portability changes in the same codebase everyone else was working out of. What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release? I understand why being a good _consumer_ demands that we demand same-day releases, but being defined by what we swallow and how quickly we get to choke it down is just not a way I want to live. This wasn't what you were asking mostly I'm just telling you that I'm really bad at Capitalism.
#Xenonauts 2 nda archive#
My attitude has always been that building a Linux game library-as in a historical archive of human creation, not your Steam game list-is important to the common good and that Hot Fresh New Bestsellers aren't. Almost always, I'm showing up for the race after it's already been run. Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: Often times, for me at least, I get brought onto a project that has already shipped for Windows, made by a team with dozens of developers over several years. Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
Noted Linux ports include: multiple Unreal Tournament titles, Prey, Psychonauts, Killing Floor and plenty more. I've included links to get in touch with these developers, for any game developer wanting their game ported to Linux, these should be on your list.įirst up, is well known and long-time Linux game porter Ryan “Icculus” Gordon. I asked three simple questions, the same questions to each of them. I posed a question to a bunch of people involved in games development and Linux porting. We see a lot of games get delayed for Linux, but why is this? I decided to ask around about the difficulties facing developers when porting games to Linux.
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