Elite:Dangerous for Linux?

[Brianetta]

That's a shame because David Braben has said, as well as Windows and Mac OS, they will look at other platforms in the future and I'm sure if they do Linux will rate high on the list.

I'm sure they will. That said, I'd still have been pledging money to a project that I wouldn't have been able to use, as described. Even the Mac users were taking a chance - betting that if the Kickstarter passed the threshold, that it would also pass the stretch goal level.

I'll pledge on a Kickstarter for a project that I would use, on the basis that I could use it. If it fails, I won't lose my pledge. If my ability to use the product depends completely on a stretch goal that hasn't been met, I won't pledge. If it depends on something as vague as "we will look at it later," pledging doesn't even cross my mind.

This might seem cavalier on my part, but Frontier isn't a charity, it's a business. They made their pitch, they got their pledges, they were successful. That's good for them, because it worked. I'm a big fan of their work, and I really do hope they're successful. Still, without a Linux port, I'm not a customer.

 

[Penthux]

In my opinion a tablet (Android or Microsoft Surface) and IPad version should be consider before Linux. There are certainly more IPads than Linux desktops. It would be a much larger audience than a Linux version.

I'm sure the Linux fans won't like that. Oh well.

I'm sure if you take time to educate yourself on the figures you'll find that there was an estimated 54Million tablet users by the end of 2012 with ~80% of those being Apple iPad users. This estimated tablet user figure is expected to jump to +90Million by the end of 2013. The estimated figures for Linux users at the end of 2012 was over 60Million. Again I'd like to stress, these figures are estimated, not proven. So, right now there aren't certainly more iPads than Linux desktops, but by the time E: D is released there might be, if the estimated figures are anywhere near accurate.

I'm sure they will. That said, I'd still have been pledging money to a project that I wouldn't have been able to use, as described. Even the Mac users were taking a chance - betting that if the Kickstarter passed the threshold, that it would also pass the stretch goal level.

I'll pledge on a Kickstarter for a project that I would use, on the basis that I could use it. If it fails, I won't lose my pledge. If my ability to use the product depends completely on a stretch goal that hasn't been met, I won't pledge. If it depends on something as vague as "we will look at it later," pledging doesn't even cross my mind.

This might seem cavalier on my part, but Frontier isn't a charity, it's a business. They made their pitch, they got their pledges, they were successful. That's good for them, because it worked. I'm a big fan of their work, and I really do hope they're successful. Still, without a Linux port, I'm not a customer.

It's not cavalier-ish Bri, it's being brutally honest. lol.

If I were in your shoes I'd get myself a PC, but then it's easy for me to say because I'm not in your shoes. Given the fact we've both spent years dreaming, hoping, and praying for Elite 4 to happen I'd rather have my heart ripped from my body, and danced upon by the devil himself, than miss out on what's to come, and I would have (incorrectly) guessed you felt exactly the same.

If, in the event, you can't afford a PC maybe we can have a whip-round among the boys. I've got some half-decent hardware you can have for free in order to build yourself a modern-ish PC.

PS - really great to see old names and people who registered on the FD forums before Nov 2012! lol

 

[thrudd]

Bit off topic but... huge linux sale, 50-75% off on Steam

 

[Davidtq]

If Elite Dangerous becomes available for Linux I might actually give Linux another go. (I havent tried it on a desktop pc since the late 90's )

I wouldnt pledge more to get there though/

 

[Brianetta]

If, in the event, you can't afford a PC maybe we can have a whip-round among the boys. I've got some half-decent hardware you can have for free in order to build yourself a modern-ish PC.

Oh, I already have a PC. What I don't have is Windows - nor any motivation to install it. I'm planning the purchase of a new PC, too, in order to cut down the compile time of Pioneer, but once again it won't have Windows. Talking me into purchasing Windows is about as likely as talking me into purchasing Diet Pepsi. Not going to happen.

 

[Cody]

Talking me into purchasing Windows is about as likely as talking me into purchasing Diet Pepsi.

<chortles> Once a penguinista, always a penguinista, eh?

 

[Penthux]

Oh, I already have a PC. What I don't have is Windows - nor any motivation to install it. I'm planning the purchase of a new PC, too, in order to cut down the compile time of Pioneer, but once again it won't have Windows. Talking me into purchasing Windows is about as likely as talking me into purchasing Diet Pepsi. Not going to happen.

... or talking you into Elite: Dangerous. It's not really about Windows or Linux is it, Bri?

Rhetorical question.

 

[Brianetta]

... or talking you into Elite: Dangerous. It's not really about Windows or Linux is it, Bri?

Rhetorical question.

My name's Brian, and it's only a rhetorical question if you already know the answer.

I won't run Windows, but I will happily give Elite: Dangerous a whirl, given that the monthly fees aren't too onerous (and, obviously, that there's a port for my OS).

 

[jabokai]

I won't run Windows, but I will happily give Elite: Dangerous a whirl, given that the monthly fees aren't too onerous (and, obviously, that there's a port for my OS).

That's fair enough, even though it's a bit "cut my nose off to spite my face" seeing as you can easily buy a second hand copy of windoze (i.e. not giving microsoft any money) PURELY for running things you WANT to play. If that is even abhorrent to you then the thing you want to play (in the case ED) obviously doesn't really mean that much to you... ergo, why are you even bothering to post anyway? Linux troll!

As DB has said that any new platforms it's released on will be applied to any existing account they'll have to work out if the number of brand new customers attracted from a Linux port would be worth it. If it is, great... I do suspect that Android and iOS would generate more additional revenue though, if it can be made to work on tablets, etc.

 

[TheDoctor]

I haven't used Linux in a while and I toyed around with Ubunutu.

I know it is a stupid question but would a linux version be 100% compatable with all the variants, Ubunuta, Mint, Red Hat etc?

Also I agree with the comments over windows Microsoft seems to have gone potty with the way they implemented win8 and I shall not be going past 7 if they continue down this path.

Although I will need to keep a win7 system for legacy as my wife's £3000 computerised sewing machine will not work on anything else but win7.

 

[Brianetta]

That's fair enough, even though it's a bit "cut my nose off to spite my face" seeing as you can easily buy a second hand copy of windoze (i.e. not giving microsoft any money) PURELY for running things you WANT to play. If that is even abhorrent to you then the thing you want to play (in the case ED) obviously doesn't really mean that much to you... ergo, why are you even bothering to post anyway? Linux troll!

You know, I don't blame you for thinking that I might think this way, because I'm sure that a lot of people do. I don't hate Microsoft, and don't begrudge them their income; I am a Windows network administrator by day, so it's not like I have some irrational hatred of the platform. That said, I do dislike it for a bunch of technical reasons and a fair few social ones. That's entirely down to me and my opinions, and I certainly don't think less of people who choose Windows - this all despite the fact that for the past decade and a half I've run the local Linux user group.

I actually might become tempted to buy and install Windows for this one game (I certainly did when I joined Egosoft with development of X2: The Threat), but that definitely hasn't happened just yet.

I haven't used Linux in a while and I toyed around with Ubunutu.

I know it is a stupid question but would a linux version be 100% compatable with all the variants, Ubunuta, Mint, Red Hat etc?

Much as we Linux users hate to admit it, no, there's no guarantees that programs released in binary form (which is how it's done on Windows and Mac) will work on different flavours of Linux. Library versions are practically set in stone at compile time, meaning that you often can't grab a package from one Linux and expect to get it working on a different one. This is even before you get to the platform differences; Linux seems to be identical on Intel 32 bit, Intel 64 bit, Arm or any other hardware platform to which it's been ported. Seems. Isn't.

As a result, software to be released for Linux has a bunch of hurdles to jump. Free software has it easy; you release the source, and users can compile it for any Linux, and distribution maintainers can compile a package for all users of their product. Closed source software has additional challenges. They can statically link libraries, but certainly not GPL libraries (which most Linux system libraries happen to be). They can release a bunch of different binaries for all the Linuxes they want to support (which we do with Pioneer). They can limit support to one blessed distribution, which alienates more than half of all Linux users.

Porting to Linux is easy. Making a package which all Linux users can use (without access to source) is not so easy. One thing that will make it easier, though, is something like Steam, which uses dark magic to provide a consistent platform.

It's not impossible; at opening time, Steam on Linux had more titles available than Steam on Mac did when it opened. Somebody out there is overcoming these problems.

 

[TheDoctor]

Thank you for that explanation.

The last time I did any real serious programming was when I did computer science in the early 90's as a minor subject to my Chemistry degree.

We used modula2, Pascal and C on UNIX workstation so I am very out of date with anything since then.

But it doesn't sound as hopeless as doing any other port.

 

[gskillas]

Dear All

another one for a Linux port. Presently I have XP for games and I am considering to run Linux only when XP support expires (2014 ) WINE or an native version openSuSE/Debian (Pi)/Ubuntu would be great. I consider spending some further money if that helps.

Regards

George

 

[nattydread]

steam has paved the way

I would love to see this game released on linux.
I think what scares developers is the fragmentation of linux and this is why valves's (steam) approach of officially just choosing one distro; Ubuntu is good.
Although ubuntu has its flaws (i.e. unity) it has other linux distros based upon it that are great. (such as mint). I think that Frontier should follow this same approach and support the same distro as steam and that will already have a base of gamers.

What has happened with steam beta is the users of othe distros have found ways of making it work. The same should happen with Elite Dangerous.
I have been very impressed with what steam has achieved and it shows games can be made for, and be profitable on linux.

 

[argus1]

linux native duel-boot

I'd favour a stripped down linux on the disk for Dangerous which has exactly what Elite needs and does not look in the home folder or My Documents of other operating systems, does not download unknown updates from anywhere other than frontier, and does not suffer from the updates creep which resulted in your throwing away your 256MB XP box. That could be cleaner for privacy than the other options, and most types of linux are set up to duel-boot and coexist with another.

That being a massively complex stretch goal for linux-Dangerous, I'd put my penny in if Frontier needed another kickstarter to get there.

 

[stewba]

I'd love to see a linux version. I run linux only at home and play all my other games under wine. ine (and playonlinux) have come a long way so I am confident that I'll be able to run Elite under wine when the beta comes out. It might take some messing around, but you kinda get used to that.

 

[Massacre]

+1 for a _native_ linux client!

And you guys should run some bench marks on linux for games you'd be amazed at the frame rates you'll get compared to windows. Its really quite good when optimised properly.

 

[Patrick_68000]

Linux has a reputation for being very reliable. Much more than Windows.

But I would prefer that Frontier uses its resources to make regular add on for the game under Windows and Mac, rather than spending energy to Linux.

Unless there is a serious market for profitable development Linux.

But in no case reduce add on for Windows and Mac

 

[graham.reeds]

Linux has a reputation for being very reliable. Much more than Windows.

I can't remember the last time I had a crash on Windows - either XP or 7.

Most of the issues stem from poorly written drivers, which is not Microsofts fault. A poorly written driver could probably take down your favourite Linux distro too.

 

[amigacooke]

I can't remember the last time I had a crash on Windows - either XP or 7.

Then you're not trying very hard.