Platform Discussion Thread

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Which API do you think CP 2077 will use?


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They say sales of Witcher 2 were good but both CPDR and Virtual Programming (the people who did the Linux port) had a hard time with it. Besides, other more recent Virtual Programming ports seem to go trough performance troubles again.

My guess is CPDR does not want to reiterate that experience: frustrated players lashing out at everybody because the port isn't working out well enough. Also, if they do a port, they might want to know how well the game sells to see if a port for a very small increase of sales compared to the total is worth it.

They also seems to be cautious with their communication. This sounds perfectly rational to me. When your are a visible entity that has to face demands, denying that demand can lead to weird or aggressive reactions from parts of the public. It is true for a videogame studio, a rich person, a pretty girl, etc...

Flatly saying "no" is potentially dangerous. If they say they won't make a Linux PC port they at the very least will have other inquiries such as "why ?". They will have to justify themselves in front of some irate gamers and it is simply trouble that is best avoided.

If you read the posts of a certain developper who had to face the anger post Witcher 2 port, it obviously takes a toll.

In addition, my personnal guess is they are not very Linux minded. Not hostile but it is something foreign to them. Their game engine is not made with multiplatform in mind, at least not with Linux, and there are no efficient way to have a satisfying port without hassle.
 
They say sales of Witcher 2 were good but both CPDR and Virtual Programming (the people who did the Linux port) had a hard time with it. Besides, other more recent Virtual Programming ports seem to go trough performance troubles again.

My guess is CPDR does not want to reiterate that experience: frustrated players lashing out at everybody because the port isn't working out well enough. Also, if they do a port, they might want to know how well the game sells to see if a port for a very small increase of sales compared to the total is worth it.

They also seems to be cautious with their communication. This sounds perfectly rational to me. When your are a visible entity that has to face demands, denying that demand can lead to weird or aggressive reactions from parts of the public. It is true for a videogame studio, a rich person, a pretty girl, etc...

Flatly saying "no" is potentially dangerous. If they say they won't make a Linux PC port they at the very least will have other inquiries such as "why ?". They will have to justify themselves in front of some irate gamers and it is simply trouble that is best avoided.

If you read the posts of a certain developper who had to face the anger post Witcher 2 port, it obviously takes a toll.

In addition, my personnal guess is they are not very Linux minded. Not hostile but it is something foreign to them. Their game engine is not made with multiplatform in mind, at least not with Linux, and there are no efficient way to have a satisfying port without hassle.
Some good points here, particularly the ones about communication.
 
Not sure how rational it is. No communication is probably the worst way to handle such things. Better one is more pro-active communication, which is common for crowdfunded studios. The earlier some problems are explained to the community, the less bad reactions there will be. I suppose instead, after the "downgrade", CDPR basically forbade communication to the point of it being "interviews only".

A similar thing happened with GOG for example. There was some weird story last year, with GOG community manager being threatened and harassed by angry trolls, for using a Twitter hashtag those trolls thought they own. GOG reacted weirdly, caving to intimidation and firing said community manager. After that incident they practially stopped communicating with the community (for example Linux support folks basically vanished from GOG forums and reddit, but it affected all, not just Linux GOG team).

Regarding Virtual Programming - they don't need to be the only option for CDPR to do Linux porting. So if they had bad experience with them in the past, they could find someone else. Even companies like AMD can offer assistance with that.
 
Not sure how rational it is. No communication is probably the worst way to handle such things. Better one is more pro-active communication, which is common for crowdfunded studios. The earlier some problems are explained to the community, the less bad reactions there will be. I suppose instead, after the "downgrade", CDPR basically forbade communication to the point of it being "interviews only".

A similar thing happened with GOG for example. There was some weird story last year, with GOG community manager being threatened and harassed by angry trolls, for using a Twitter hashtag those trolls thought they own. GOG reacted weirdly, caving to intimidation and firing said community manager. After that incident they practially stopped communicating with the community (for example Linux support folks basically vanished from GOG forums and reddit, but it affected all, not just Linux GOG team).

Regarding Virtual Programming - they don't need to be the only option for CDPR to do Linux porting. So if they had bad experience with them in the past, they could find someone else. Even companies like AMD can offer assistance with that.
Once bitten, twice shy, is essentially the policy I think CDPR is adopting here.

Same goes for mod support.

I'm not saying it's good or bad from a business perspective (because I frankly don't know), but it is -- at the very least -- based on some level of logic. So, understandable.
 
They say sales of Witcher 2 were good but both CPDR and Virtual Programming (the people who did the Linux port) had a hard time with it. Besides, other more recent Virtual Programming ports seem to go trough performance troubles again.

My guess is CPDR does not want to reiterate that experience: frustrated players lashing out at everybody because the port isn't working out well enough. Also, if they do a port, they might want to know how well the game sells to see if a port for a very small increase of sales compared to the total is worth it.

They also seems to be cautious with their communication. This sounds perfectly rational to me. When your are a visible entity that has to face demands, denying that demand can lead to weird or aggressive reactions from parts of the public. It is true for a videogame studio, a rich person, a pretty girl, etc...

Flatly saying "no" is potentially dangerous. If they say they won't make a Linux PC port they at the very least will have other inquiries such as "why ?". They will have to justify themselves in front of some irate gamers and it is simply trouble that is best avoided.

If you read the posts of a certain developper who had to face the anger post Witcher 2 port, it obviously takes a toll.

In addition, my personnal guess is they are not very Linux minded. Not hostile but it is something foreign to them. Their game engine is not made with multiplatform in mind, at least not with Linux, and there are no efficient way to have a satisfying port without hassle.

How is saying "no" dangerous? And why would they care if people ask why? If they dont do it, thats that, nothing gamers can do about it. [Edited -- SigilFey]
 
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How is saying "no" dangerous? And why would they care if people ask why? If they dont do it, thats that, nothing gamers can do about it. Just play something else if its such a big deal.

Tone, please. Constructive comments only.


In answer to your question, there's no reason for any company to announce a definite "yes" or "no" until something is done. When I publicly announce something is not available, that's the same thing as closing the doors on certain customers. Besides, who knows? Maybe in the next six months, Linux will release something that brings them into the spotlight. Maybe everything will change. Maybe nothing will change.
 
I just saw a strange reference, that TW1 was released for Linux. Did I miss something?

https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/capital-group/history/

In 2012 The Witcher was re-released for Apple and Linux devices.

Never heard of TW1 Linux release. It's playable in Wine of course, but I don't think that's what CDPR meant there.

Post automatically merged:


Intel posted about open drivers support on Linux for their upcoming discrete GPUs:

https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/series/56683/
 
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I just saw a strange reference, that TW1 was released for Linux. Did I miss something?

https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/capital-group/history/



Never heard of TW1 Linux release. It's playable in Wine of course, but I don't think that's what CDPR meant there.

Post automatically merged:


Intel posted about open drivers support on Linux for their upcoming discrete GPUs:

https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/series/56683/
Hey, Gilrond,

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this. https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/19/linux-gaming-steam-valve-epic-games-store/

You don't need to read the whole thing, but try to look for some of the important quotes, because I'm really curious what your opinion is.

Here's one from the creators of Super Meat Boy:

"The pro of supporting Linux is the community. In my experience, Linux gamers tend to be the most appreciative gamers out there. If you support Linux at all, the chances are they will come out of the woodwork to thank you, offer to help with bugs, talk about your game, and just in general be pretty cool people. The con here unfortunately is the Linux gaming community is a very, very small portion of the PC gaming market.

If I were to list how Super Meat Boy has made money since the Linux version dropped, starting with the highest earner, the list would be: Windows, Xbox, Playstation 4, Switch, various licensing agreements, Mac, Playstation Vita, WiiU, merchandise sales, NVidia Shield, interest from bank accounts, Linux."

Mind, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anything in the article, just looking for additional insight.
 
First of all, I'd call the title somewhat of a click bait and over dramatization.

IMHO, Linux gaming market is doing well and it's gradually growing, which manifests in three things. 1. more Linux games, 2. more developers making Linux games, 3. more actual gamers using Linux. As the article itself points out, the total amount of Steam users is growing every year. So total amount of Linux gamers using Steam is growing every year as well, even if percentage stays the same. I.e. nothing rapid, but steady nevertheless.

Linux is no closer to claiming the gaming world's crown than it was six years ago

I don't think anyone expected Linux to replace Windows for majority of users. But Linux gaming market succeeded in breaking through and sustaining growth, as above. That shows that while small, it's already viable.

Epic Games didn't provide an update on its plans for this story.

Epic store isn't something I really care about. No DRM-free games, no Linux versions - I'll pass. I don't even use Steam (though I'm thankful to Valve for their major contribution to Linux gaming and related open source technologies), so Epic simply isn't even registered on my radar ;)

At least Epic are putting some (though not enough) effort into making their Unreal Engine work on Linux. Quite a number of interesting recent Linux releases are using Unreal. State of Mind, Everspace and Ruiner are those that I bought last year. And from the upcoming - Steel Rats, We Happy Few and The Bard's Tale IV. All of those are using UE4 and will have Linux releases in 2019.

My hope is Steam's Proton project really takes off and Linux support is invisible to me

I consider Wine as an aid for developers who can't afford Linux porting, not as a solution for those who make proper releases. I.e. it shouldn't be a solution for big companies which have money for making a proper Linux port (hint - CDPR for example).

Regarding profitability of games like Super Meat Boy and others. Hard to say if their story is common or unique to them. I have a feeling Linux users may be more picky with games. I haven't played Super Meat Boy - that's not my type of game. But I did enjoy quite a number of Linux releases. I think success in the Linux market is somewhat driven by the genre and game depth. It's just my guess, but I suspect more serious and story driven games are faring better.
 
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i'm not PC gamer but if PS4 frame rate drops down... i will have no choice.
 

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I still don't understand why game consoles exist in the first place. Games are made on computers and can be made to be played on computers. :p
 
Can't stand playing shooters with a console controller. I grew up with PC's, though, so it's more or less a childhood thing I just can't shake.
 
PS4 and if CDPR are smart and honest as they claim to be, they'll release a free "graphic update" on PS5 (such as the one for PS4 pro, but better) and I'll play it there as well.

I'm not buying the game twice (given the obvious backward compatibility of both next gen consoles) and if I'll need to buy it again on PS5, once I'll updgrade my hardware my copy will be sold to someone else.
 
PC all the way! My GTX 1080, I7 7700k combo is ready for 'dis:ok:

One of the reasons i upgraded frankly (almost two years ago but meh..) barely managed to snatch the video card after a long drought with the -then- ethereum cryptocurrency (i think it was) miners craze.
 

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Who knows what platform will exist when the game releases, in 2077.
 
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