Elite:Dangerous for Linux?

[TheDoctor]

If Linux was the no 1 desktop operating system then virus and malware authors would target you.

No it is the number 1 OS for server use, if somebody really wanted to take down the internet all they would need to do it to knock out small amopunt of servers and then there would be trouble.

Anyways I thought FD were looking at COBRA for Android use anyways which is all but linux anyways.

Looking at the NPD figures for the new consoles I cannot see how FD could conisder console ports over linux given that watch dogs the number 1 selling game so far only sold 350k copies in June. (from reddit)

Steam tells us that there is slightly less linux usres than MAC users, so let FD look at the MAC usuage figures and work out how many potential linux users there may be.

 

[Mister]

But would it be more cheap? They already have an engine that supports the consoles. Does it support Linux?

For Linux support the hard is OpenGL support. Which you would need for the Mac port anyways.
So the majority of work is done for both if you do one.

 

[graham.reeds]

No it is the number 1 OS for server use, if somebody really wanted to take down the internet all they would need to do it to knock out small amopunt of servers and then there would be trouble.

But virus writers don't want to take down the Internet. If they did their virus wouldn't spread. What they do is sell their virii to criminals who want to take down your bank account and since very few people use Linux in the home then the virus writers stay away.

 

[Cmdr Fremen]

If Linux was the no 1 desktop operating system then virus and malware authors would target you.

Yes, maybe! I'm glad it's not no. 1. on the desktop. But the truth is, Linux is everywhere. From the smallest devices, home accessories, phones and tablets, ATM and industrial softwares, servers all around the world, desktop computers, robotics, space station and supercomputers. It is modular and flexible so it scales well. It has a different structure that makes much more difficult to write capable malware to. In most cases I'd need explicitly authorize the malware to do harm in my computer. But I know Linux is no magic, it's just another OS made by people and I don't think it's invulnerable at all. To err is human.

 

[Mister]

The problem with Linux viruses is they rely much more heavily on human error.

 

[graham.reeds]

The problem with Linux viruses is they rely much more heavily on human error.

In fact it would be easier on Linux I feel. The source is available and so can scan the source for potential attack vectors whereas on Windows you are looking at disassembled binaries.

 

[TheDoctor]

But virus writers don't want to take down the Internet. If they did their virus wouldn't spread. What they do is sell their virii to criminals who want to take down your bank account and since very few people use Linux in the home then the virus writers stay away.

Oh yes they do. The whole phising and downloading of malware is going quite out of fashion for a while.

Criminal gangs have moved away from the whole stealing of bank details as it is very unlikely to get particulary far as opposed to shaking down large companies for money in protection style rackets.

Currently they are using botnets and will even hire them out to other gangs for DoS attacks, but if they could go one further and take down whole lumps of the net they would do.

 

[alexios]

I believe that already a lot of backers are actually Linux users. I have paid for Elite Dangerous because I want to play it, but in the future I'd love to play it on Linux.

Me too. I hate having to reboot, it ruins my carefully constructed work session and forces me to migrate all my work stuff on the laptop in case something urgent happens.

On the upside, if I had a Linux client I'd never get any work done.

I know it's off, but I also have to tell everyone here that I've personally given up on persuading others to at least try out Linux. Most of the people cannot even image anything better, and they think it's natural to have random crashes, BSODs, malware and antivirus software, unexplainable slowdowns, upgrade when quitting, fragmented harddrives, searching for drivers, just to name a few fun stuff.

I think NTFS is affected by fragmentation to the same degree ext[2-4] is. It's not a bad filesystem—compared to FAT. I hope no-one is still using that. (except on Flash devices and cameras, sigh)

Now on the topic again: I don't think porting the finished Elite Dangerous would be that difficult after releasing the Mac port, since the difference between Mac and Linux are actually smaller than it's between Mac and Windows.

IIRC Cobra uses D3D for its graphics, which makes it quite a task to port to Linux (and the Mac). However, according to the devs, the Mac port of the client is well underway and that'll have to use OpenGL. The MacOS E cient would be an OpenGL client for a POSIX operating system. This means a Linux port is quite easy. Macs and Non-Macs use the same architecture these days.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

In fact it would be easier on Linux I feel. The source is available and so can scan the source for potential attack vectors whereas on Windows you are looking at disassembled binaries.

Available source is also visible to security specialists who look in same code for security bugs and errors. In most of scenarios, it is security specs who first find culpits in code, not hackers.

Linux servers are very popular all around the world, but you won't find very easily spread viruses on them. There are some good reasons why.

 

[Midtskogen]

I backed Elite: Dangerous simply because it is a game I would like to be made. I played the original game on the C64 in my early teens. I also was a programmer in the game industry working on a 3D engine in the 90's, and a proper open universe Elite game was my dream and this highly influenced my design. I left the industry after a couple of years and have never looked back. But I've never forgot Elite.

Seeing now how nicely Elite: Dangerous is coming along, I'm beginning to think how wonderful it would be to actually try the game (or at least introduce it to my son). But having grown up with Commodore, the natural choice when Commodore faded was to switch to Linux back in 1992/1993, and that's where I've stayed since.

I realise that a proper Linux version is not first priority. However, I'm thinking that it might not even be necessary for most Linux users. X86 Linux can run a lot of native Windows applications with Wine. Maybe making Elite: Dangerous work with Wine is less than 10% of the work of a native version, but achieves more than 90% of the objective. It could be a low hangig fruit. If the Elite: Dangerous distrubution is made pretty self contained, it should work just fine with Wine. For instance, Space Engine runs just fine on Linux, out of the box on my Ubuntu installs. As a bonus, if the distribution is sufficiently self contained to run on Linux, it would likely be less issues with exotic Windows installs as well.

Are Frontier developers reading this thread, or has this option been discussed here before?

 

[web002]

I have been running Linux full-time for many years, I have mostly played games which runs through wine or have recieved a native linux version.


This game looks like everything i'd want in a game but sadly I will never purchase Windows just to be able to play... I really hope a Linux version will be developed but I dont feel I can pledge unless its earmarked for that development.

Going linux is just the right thing to do. I believe it would be enough just to release it to SteamOS, Ubuntu or whatever and the community will prolly publish guides on how to make it work on "any" linux platform.

 

[tors]

Hope the game "exceeds its target" so Frontier will look into increasing the number of platforms.
I haven't seen any discussions about Linux in the Design Discussion Forum yet, but I hope there are some Linux evangelists in there

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Hope the game "exceeds its target" so Frontier will look into increasing the number of platforms.
I haven't seen any discussions about Linux in the Design Discussion Forum yet, but I hope there are some Linux evangelists in there

There are lot of Linux users in DDF and first backers community. I personally plan to do campaign to convince FD to do crowdfunding for Linux version after PC and Mac versions will be released (next year spring most likely).

 

[Koen]

I threehundredfourteenth a Linux version of E: D.

 

[philux]

I approve of native support for Linux!

Pls, make it happen, FDEV!

 

[philux]

Linux port was never offered as a stretch goal during KS and if porting to Linux would be relatively easy then porting to Linux seems logical next step. I'm sure if this kind of stretch goal was offered back then it would have attracted more people to the project. If FD is really thinking about next platforms we think it should be Linux and then X, Y or Z.

If you have the Mac Version then porting it to Linux should be doable in reasonable time as both are POSIX systems and use OpenGL.

Another driving factor could be that if FDEV ports their COBRA engine once, they will be able to support SteamOS/Linux in the future with all their titles w/ little overhead similar to what you can already do w/ Unity.

 

[Patrick_68000]

next year spring most likely).

Next spring for the PC version and at the end of the summer for the MAC version

 

[alexios]

If you have the Mac Version then porting it to Linux should be doable in reasonable time as both are POSIX systems and use OpenGL.

OpenGL 4.5 has just been released, and it brings in a Direct3D 11 API compatibility layer, so porting games from one to the other is supposedly much easier now. This is even better news for both Mac people and Linux people.

 

[Vash63]

You can add me to the list of people who will probably buy the game the day a Linux version is officially confirmed. That's the day I bought [REDACTED], the other major space sim.

 

[matus]

Please, please support linux!

I don't have a windows pc at home. I play E: D secretly during afterhours on the pc in my office.

It's actually pretty embarassing. I had to extra ask the network manager to open port 5100 on my pc, so I can play online. Still less embarassing than installing windows on a pc