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Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

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Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#32
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The post you replied to is about hardware specs, not the size of the user base.

Which is filled with broken driver experiences, and a pleothora of distributions.

It wouldn't be that hard to put a couple developers of each major distro around a table then have them decide that when the user installs say the gaming_mode package, a well defined and standardized set of kernel+libraries+devices gets installed/created along with a new Grub boot option should that conflict with current versions.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#33
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1% of desktop market is counting pennies for AAA studios.

Not like this was ever any different. And yet, they used to support it then. They have just turned a corner as a company. With all the exclusivity deals, anti-competitive tactics, anti-consumer sentiment and nonsense that the Sweeney clown spews, they are really competing with EA for worst gaming-related company. (Their tech is still good, but so is EA’s; that’s not the problem.)

Exclusive deals are part of the industry since the early 80's.

Other than Unreal (the game), there was hardly any big effort to support GNU/Linux from Epic side.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#34
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is filled with broken driver experiences, and a pleothora of distributions.

It wouldn't be that hard to put a couple developers of each major distro around a table then have them decide that when the user installs say the gaming_mode package, a well defined and standardized set of kernel+libraries+devices gets installed/created along with a new Grub boot option should that conflict with current versions.

It would work as easy as having a desktop_mode, audio_mode package, .... /s

In case you missed it, that was the point of Steam Machines, and the respective distribution.

A mere 1% of Valve customers.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#35
post #8

> EGS will never have a Linux build This feels like a strange thing since the Epic engine is available on Linux (I used it for dev just a couple of months ago). I am not disputing the statement, the op makes a good case for atleast Tim being quite anti-Linux. I just feels really weird that the game store wouldn't ever get to a platform the engine is already on. It feels short sighted by Epic. Or I guess it just isn't…

EGS itself is an Electron garbage. The whole reason to use Electron garbage is to build cross-platform crapware on the cheap.

In my experience this is just an excuse. The developers still have to produce builds for linux and test them and even though this is very easy, they just don't do it.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#36
post #9

There will be a non-zero number of people who will have purchased those games precisely due to there being a linux client available for them. Pulling support for a client of a competitive online game like Rocket League is fundamentally closing the game to those players - as they will be unable to compete online with other players (be it on PC or on the other platforms). I really don't like Epic's change in behaviour…

UE4 itself can build to Linux, so this move just baffles me. If anything, I thought Epic was going to push harder on Linux.

Valve is pushing linux hard because they have to compete with microsoft, and although steam is much bigger than the windows store, windows store comes with the platform and linux has nothing comparable. Epic store does want to compete with steam, but they also care about the eastern market—hence the tencent investment—where internet cafes are much more popular than PCs; they can make deals with the internet cafe owners to make epic the installed store, and artificially capture market share that way.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#37
post #23

It makes me feel old to remember buying physical media that will still work today, 30 years later. My fictive grand kids will be able to play those games long after the worms have gnawed my bones. Whereas my library of virtual assets will probably evaporate into ether before I'm even retired.

> My fictive grand kids will be able to play those games long after the worms have gnawed my bones. I would love that you be right. And by far, I strongly prefer physical media. However, physical media is no guarantee either. - Sometimes, the pain is on purpose: some apps require an online activation, and the corresponding service, 30 years later, is not available anymore. - Sometimes, it's a lack of foresight from t…

> at this point it's easier to play the PSX version on an emulator

How hard is it to set up windows 95 in a vm, basically an emulator?

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#38
post #8

> EGS will never have a Linux build This feels like a strange thing since the Epic engine is available on Linux (I used it for dev just a couple of months ago). I am not disputing the statement, the op makes a good case for atleast Tim being quite anti-Linux. I just feels really weird that the game store wouldn't ever get to a platform the engine is already on. It feels short sighted by Epic. Or I guess it just isn't…

EGS itself is an Electron garbage. The whole reason to use Electron garbage is to build cross-platform crapware on the cheap.

Interestingly enough, although steam does support linux and isn't an electron garbage, it's going to become one soon.

Re: Epic Games is killing Linux support for games and software it acquired

#40
post #21

Nontechnical speculation: Just a power struggle with Valve. Mostly technical speculation: The horrible binary compatibility story of Linux userland. Socio-technical speculation because everything is now multiplayer: Less effective DRM on Linux means more cheaters ruining the game for others, in the worst case losing more players than Linux adds.

>Mostly technical speculation: The horrible binary compatibility story of Linux userland.

This has been effectively solved by three different tools. Take your pick from:

* Appimages

* Snaps

* Flatpaks

Naturally they all have their own upsides and downsides, but if the only thing holding you back from shipping to linux is concerns about fiddling with shared libraries, just pick one at random and move on. I suggest appimages as feeling closest to a fat binary without triggering various licence clauses, deliver it like it's an exe.

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