Why make games for Linux if they don't sell? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#51

Post by phkahler » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 2:50 PM UTC

60654 wrote: post #28

Porting games to Linux is definitely not something you do for the money. Linux sales on Steam hover in the 1%-2% area of total sales, less than even MacOS. On the plus side, if you use an engine like Unity, making a binary for Linux is no longer much of a problem (you don't have to wrangle xplatform libraries etc). On the minus side, actually testing and debugging things to make sure things work for customers who use…

>> Porting games to Linux is definitely not something you do for the money.

Part of the article suggested that building Linux first is easier, because porting to Windows should mostly just work.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#52

Post by freeone3000 » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:00 PM UTC

gsich wrote: post #19

amelius wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does MS allow one to sell games for both XBox and Windows?

Yes. But you don't need "allowance" on Windows.

You'd need one for the Xbox store or the MSFT store. But so far, you can sell something both through the MSFT store, with Xbox branding or not, and outside of the MSFT store.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#53

Post by shawnz » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:01 PM UTC

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #44

shawnz wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are saying that if a game runs on Stadia then the vendor must have already done the work to port it to a Linux-based platform, since Stadia is a Linux-based platform.

Android is a Linux-based platform. The hard part of dealing with Linux is that the userland-is-a-free-for-all model means there are effectively hundreds of Linux-based platforms out there to deal with.

That is true, but even the most niche Linux platform is still closer to the mean of Linux platforms than Windows is.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#54

Post by paulryanrogers » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:02 PM UTC

manojlds wrote: post #48

paulryanrogers wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the software is new or obscure then it'll be blocked by Defender unless the user knows the override ritual. Code signing may help.

Feels silly comparison...if someone can't dont that you can rule out them running Linux.

Sorry if I was unclear. The code signing requirement to bypass the ritual means Windows is more of a walled garden than Linux.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#55

Post by thrower123 » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:08 PM UTC

fileeditview wrote: post #34

thrower123 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why anyone would waste the energy to target Linux beyond making sure that your Windows build also works on Wine.

Did you read the article?

Yes. Fine, if you want to do it as a labor of love, but on an economic basis, it's moronic.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#56

Post by typenil » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:15 PM UTC

Over the last several years, I've stopped buying games that aren't on Linux. It's just too much of a hassle to be switching around when there's plenty of Linux-supported fun to be had.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#57

Post by dmarchand90 » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:50 PM UTC

I think there's a certain chicken egg aspect to this problem as well. Devs don't target Linux because people don't game on Linux and people don't game on Linux because there's no games. (Obviously this isn't the whole story there are other reasons people don't use Linux and i admit this loop is probably relatively minor)

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#58

Post by spystath » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 3:59 PM UTC

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #49

kgwxd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even when that's done it never seems to be officially supported. Probably because too much is out of their hands to make any guarantees.

You simply cannot offer support for Linux users because everything above the kernel is optional. Even if you limit yourself to a few distributions they have a bad habit of changing fundamental userland components every 2 years. Hell, Ubuntu nearly dropped 32bit lib support and consequently their status as the only Linux officially supported by Steam.

I believe this argument is slightly weak. I understand that the ecosystem is very diverse but even on Windows most new games only officially support Windows 10. If you're on 7 for any reason then it's your problem if the game doesn't work. Similarly if you're willing to go down the Linux route developing and deploying only on Ubuntu, for instance, can be regarded as a "single platform". It's my prerogative to use whatever I want on my Linux box but then it's my problem to make sure I have all the required components available for my bespoke setup. I haven't used Ubuntu in years but give me a "Ubuntu executable" and I'll find a way to make it work on my desktop. And if you don't want to limit yourself on Ubuntu Valve is now rolling out their "steam runtime containers" which are reproducible environments for developers to target.

There are still issues with the drivers, I'll give you that. But at least AMD/Mesa is moving fast to adopt features. NVIDIA is going to be NVIDIA but at least they are not skimping on implementing OpenGL and Vulkan extensions.

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#59

Post by 0-_-0 » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

overkalix wrote: post #12

INTPenis wrote: post #2

I don't expect to play any big AAA titles but I also remember only having Nethack and tux racer. So I am over the moon being able to play these current titles on Linux. Caves of Qud, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Rimworld, Oxygen Not Included, Stellaris, Civ, Streets of Rogue, Pillars of Eternity and many more. Those are just my favorites so I hope others will list theirs.

Do you know that wojak meme where a crying guy is wearing a happy mask? That's how I felt playing tux racer in the mid 2000s

Nethack on the other hand...

Re: Why make games for Linux if they don't sell?

#60

Post by Krssst » Wed, Dec 30, 2020, 4:08 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #24

pram wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey don't forget XBill, Linux game of the year 1994

Rings a faint bell. But one game I loved that I didn't mention was Konquest. It came with KDE on RedHat 6 or 7. It was a turn based space strategy game. I absolutely loved it and spent a large part of my adult life looking for a modern alternative.

Galcon 2 seems to be a real-time alternative ; not sure if it would match your expectations.