Linux

to make CCP take up Linux support again?

Make a petition etc.

Discuss, please.

For one, we could stop opening these threads once every three months.

Ugh no, it isn't. It is great for the noobs or the lazy, but for those that aren't afraid on making their hands a bit dirty it's far better to chose a different distro.


I seriously doubt it. Currently the main issue is the fact that most of the major game producers are relying on DirectX and windows specific code, of which neither will work on Linux.

Gallium3D is currently working on providing DirectX support on Linux, but it remains to be seen if they will be succesfull. It would be nice they somehow manage to get DirectX supported on Linux, but I think it would be far nicer if all game devs would switch back to OpenGL (or whatever alternative for graphics framework as long as it is OPEN).

Aside the used graphics layer, the game devs would also need to produce OS independent code (e.g. c++ instead of C#, java, python, ...) because in that case they can simply create a binary blob for each type of OS (Win, Mac, Linux) and add static libraries. At that point it pretty much comes down to extracting a zip/tarball and start playing.

I believe Valve will have a bigger impact on Linux support for games than Ubuntu. First of all because they are game producers contrary to Canonical (Ubuntu). Second of all they are close to actually providing a limited linux support and rely on their experience with providing mac support. Third they are the main online distributors of games. Forth they have experience with being front runners of innovation and seem to have a very good feeling as what is possible.

Orly?

http://community.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1521153&page=1#9

FTFY.

Luckily, we have some guardian angels on the other side of the barricade...


As a fellow CFC alumnus, I approve of this message and/or service.

Now the need to do it sinds steam and other big company`s have problems with this windows 8 thing.. however ccp dont need steam or others.... so we wait and see what happends

Ever heard of Direct X and the fact that it is MS Windows specific? If you believe that converting the direct X dependency of the EvE code to OpenGL is a trivial task, then maybe you should be angling for a job at CCP, because obviously you are worth it.

I like your optimism in believing there is actually native directX support for Linux. Even aside the directX issue there might be the issue that the eve client was not designed to be cross-platform (thus relying on specific features of windows).

The back end to the eve client is python based so yes your 100 percent right with the back end they would need to recompile python based off nix. Tbh most of that was already done in the mac os client. Provided the mac client is a true client and not a wine wrapped client. ( i dont have a mac to verify).

anyways there's a few possible outcomes.

First off The client is not open ended. Meaning it is only written AS a DX only client. Very passably so at least around before fan fest. This could have changed with inferno. They were talking about rewriting it to api less client.

second there is a true mac client Doubt it (any mac people wanna verify it for me please?)



For them to make a true linux client first and foremost they would have to add Open GL / AL support to the client itself. (takes time but is not actually hard with competent devs 30 to 60 days to add another api support. Second would be to make the client API less actually take a tad more time because the code has to be generic enough to call functions that any api would understand. Advantages it would run on damn near anything that is capable of running it. Eve tv anyone????


Now if CCP makes a linux client yes we will all be great full for it god i know how long i have wanted it. Anyways people say wine does a good job which it does But nothing beats a native client hands down.


Also another fear is people have is if they do it it will take away from other aspects of the game this is 100 percent false. CCP is no way near as big as blizzard or other companies. But there also not a small start up neither. Heck even small start ups support linux 9 times out of 10 anymore and its a bigger gamble and risk for them to do it then it would b e for ccp to do it.


Yes linux can run games in dx mode with wine and passably later on nativly granted that artificial was written back in 2010 Here is another issue. DX is a pure ms api. Soon as they implement it fully in nix they will prob get slammed with a cease and desist letter.

Well thats my rant atm.

IF YOU WANT LINUX SUPPORT THO..

Keep bugging Valve to do it though steam. There already taking lists and suggestions on which games you want ported to linux for steam on linux. So the more you bug them the bigger the pressure gets to build a client :)

Some dev blog from last year <- it seems most people don't realise that part of the eve client is written in c++ and thus is not automatically cross-platform. There is a even older dev blog that mentioned that there is something like 250000 lines of C++ code and about 600000 lines of Python code. Yes Eve is mostly relying on Python and that code should be fairly trivial to compile it for Linux, however the last third of the entire code base is in C++ and will need to be checked thouroughly before it can be shipped to linux users.

If you want to have the opinion of the devs about a linux client then watch this


It is not only about it being hard, but about if it makes sense to do it. The Linux userbase is very small compared to the windows user base and I personally prefer that CCP spends all their efforts on developing the game instead of spending a large chunk of their efforts on getting the game to run cross-platform.


You seem to know very little about software development on the scale of eve. Thinking that it would only take 30-60 day's for the devs to add OpenGL api support (learning the API, implementing AND debugging?, butch please!).

Also stating that converting the client to cross-platform doesn't take away from other aspects game is you showing that you seriously think that the devs are currently just twindling their tumbs. If the devs are converting the client they will not have any time left to work on other aspects of the game.