Hi, If Descent 4 gets made is there a chance that a linux native port will get made? Descent 1/2/3 all have linux ports and it'd be a massive shame if the next game in the series didn't get a port. LGP would be able to help out with a port if you guys wanted to outsource porting it. I realise there isn't a descent 4 game that's been announced at this time, but I'm curious to know what gamesas's position is on Linux ports. Note I am not calling for the sourcecode to be released. Just saying that a native port would be awesome.

If there is a chance, I would guess that it would be slim.

It's one of those chicken-egg problems. If more people bought Linux versions, and the sales numbers were there, more developers (including us) would make Linux versions. As a company, we're OS agnostic.

pax,
-Chris

just a thought: gamesas is trying to re-establish themselves, having a internal department for Linux support might help.

the only company that lurches into my mind as far as supporting Linux games is ID, not a bad set of people to be associated with IMO. hay, "OC" ..... i got something for ya right here! _|_ (^.^) _|_


"MMO-RPG" = "Mass Market Oriented - Repetitive Profit Genera"
- damned things still svcked me in ...

Some of the people I've been talking to were saying that linux games were now selling comparably to windows games that are not being sold over steam and that sales figures were actually quite high.

Linux has a desktop market share of barely one percent, which doesn't exactly indicate that supporting Linux would help a game company into the gaming market.
Descent 1 & 2 for Windows, OS X & Linux
Only a dead troll is a good troll.

O.o

did you eat paint chips as a baby?

Linux if FREEEEEEEEEEEE!

OFC they don't have a "market share" as only a select few distros are actually "sold" and even then those ones are about 90% server APPs.

the main issue with games on Linux is people hiding behind the GNU to pirate software, or at least the threat of it as most people are somewhat hesitant about releasing source code for a program that cost 5-50 million to produce. hay, "OC" ..... i got something for ya right here! _|_ (^.^) _|_


"MMO-RPG" = "Mass Market Oriented - Repetitive Profit Genera"
- damned things still svcked me in ...

Well, apparently I ate way more stuff that's good for the brain development than you did.

I am not talking about "sold copies", but about "used copies". Less than 1 percent of all desktop PCs world wide run Linux.

Other than you I know what I am talking about and do not mistake some wet OS dream for the reality.

I don't think I'm super smart, but people like you make me wonder whether I underestimate myself.
Descent 1 & 2 for Windows, OS X & Linux
Only a dead troll is a good troll.

This discussion is interesting. Please keep the posts on target and be polite.

pax,
-Chris

I am maintaining D2X-XL for MS Windows, Linux and OS X for years now (btw. working with ATIs Stream Computing and NVidia's CUDA too), and I can safely say that using OpenGL (and OpenCL) would make porting to UNIX style OS-s a matter of little extra effort. If you use OpenGL (and OpenCL to speed up not directly graphics related tasks suitable for massively data parallel processing, like e.g. particle systems and physics engines) and follow a few simple guidelines when coding a new game, keeping the game multi-platform compatible would be very simple. With OpenGL 3.1 you can do about everything you can do with DX 10.X. Throw in OpenCL to cover DX11 compute shaders (and unlike these, having OpenCL compilers is very close - NVidia has already passed theirs for validation to the Khronos group). id Software shows that OpenGL is a viable alternative to DirectX.

The question in this is just which console(s) do you want to support? Afaik there is no way around DX when targetting the XBox 360. I think that this is the pivotal question.
Descent 1 & 2 for Windows, OS X & Linux
Only a dead troll is a good troll.

If there will be a D4 (but I don't think there will be one), then I would be happy to see it on Linux, too. There are some people porting games to Linux outside companies. The most famous person if "Ryan C. Gordon" aka. "Icculus" ( http://www.icculus.org ).

He did the last port of D3, Google Earth port, Prey port, ...
Some years ago he was working for Loki games ( http://www.lokigames.com ). I believe he would like do the D4 port, too!

His D2X port was awfully coded. I think he didn't do it alone though. Actually I don't know how much he was involved in actual coding. All I know for sure is that he is/was the D2X maintainer, so I just reckon he did some coding too.
Descent 1 & 2 for Windows, OS X & Linux
Only a dead troll is a good troll.

karx11erx, d2x-xl is still not working well!! When I open the Automap d2x-xl just stops working!! I'm using the HiRes objects I downloaded from http://www.descent2.de.

by the way, Linux was invented by a Finn All we need is sisu, sauna and salmiakki... Hyv? Suomi!!

I run linux. The only time I run windows...is...well... hardly ever.

I now run many windows games on linux.

I also run Loki D3 linux.


However, if I had a choice between a good stable game with great investment into DX11 and the likes, vs the inconvenience of windows, I'd choose windows for D4.

Depends on your viewpoint. The indie game that I just helped out with sold as many units as I'd hoped would have sold for Ballistics (that I also did for LGP...)- sorry can't disclose what Elecorn's done there . Seeing 2-5k units selling for older titles, if done right is something you can realistically expect. Seeing probably similar sales figures or better than a Mac port of the title on something new is probably the expectation if done right.

I'm interested in working with gamesas as an independent consultant to help them get some of their back catalog that they have source to up and selling on Good Old Games. I'm interested in helping them getting things like D4 going on Linux.

Why choose. If you end up making a winner, you will want to make console ports. Making DirectX only means you only can target X-Box and Windows. You'd have to have a port team do the work for parts if you do that so that you could have a PS3, MacOS, etc. version of the game. It's easier to make interchangeable rendering backends and then choose something like FMOD or IrrKlang for sound, etc. and make it as portable as possible. You'll end up with a 'good stable game' if you do that instead of doing silly like 'great investment in DX11'. DX11 is a waste of their time, IMNSHO. Especially in the light of the spate of smartphones with about as much muscle as an original X-Box did. You can get some damned slick eye-candy with those, put many of the "cool" games on them in some fashion- but not a single one of those upcoming phones uses DX11, nor will they ever.

... and we still have OpenGL 3 on Linux.

It's actually opengl 3.2 on Linux now, Nvidia have already pushed out 3 drivers with the new spec. They've been pushing pretty hard for updated opengl on linux. Whatever gamesas decides to do with D4. If there's a mac port PLEASE make sure that a Linux port gets done at the same time. It's really annoying to see games getting ported to mac which use the same apis and the same cpu architecture but then get no support on Linux. I'm looking at you ASPYR inc.

D4 will be made for Linux I reckon, I mean gamesas did give Loki the permission to make a D3 for Linux, so I think that OS'ses from Mircosoft, Apple and Linux should be supported since these are the most used three operating systems for gamers, this way D4 will be OS friendly overall, which i think is a very important aspect. Holder Of The World's Largest Descent / Freespace Collection: