I'm all for that, even if I'm not strictly a Linux user at the moment.
If rumors about the new Valve console hold any truth, it could be a smart investment to do now to be future-proof.
If rumors about the new Valve console hold any truth, it could be a smart investment to do now to be future-proof.
I doubt that if anyone will rid off his gaming PC after buying Valve console. After all switching to Linux you lose access to few thousands of games that were already released on PC. IF Linux become a big thing then it's smart move to start releasing Linux versions of the games, but it won't happen in one year.TucoBenedicto said:
Now they are already putting a lot of money into their projects - two triple A, open-world projects that will be released on PC and next gen consoles, and probably on Mac. Adding Linux support to their engine would be another effort for already 'overburdened' company.
That would be a very LONG argument I'm not exactly willing to start right now.Aver said:
In short, let's just say that no one is supposed to get rid of his/her PC to buy a Valve console and that I don't expect Valve to dive in this kind of business without putting a lot on effort in porting as many games as possible to Linux.
Things are already moving, according to rumors, with a lot of companies (admittedly mostly PC-centric ones, so far) already working to be Linux-ready very soon.
Considering how most of the efforts to make a game Linux-ready are focused around offering OGL as an alternate option to DirectX, and considering how TW3 is already supposed to come on the next Playstation (that I'm confident won't be DX based, for obvious reasons) and probably even Mac, at some point, I can't see an effort to port the game on Linux as particularly expensive or risky.
My guess: even just selling 10,000 or 20,000 copies on Linux would probably be enough to break even. And if this thing (the Steambox or whatever they are going to call it) explodes in popularity it would be far better to be ready from the start than be on a chase later.
I didn't say it wouldn't sell enough to break even. I said that it would be another effort for already overburden company. They already have a lot of projects that need a lot of money and every penny counts. They don't have infinite resources. It's often question about "which option will give us bigger profit" instead of "what won't make any loses".TucoBenedicto said:
It's all about Alternative Revenue, you can spend 50k$ on something that will just break even (FOR EXAMPLE: Linux port) or you can spend 50k$ on something that will give break even and give you additional profit (FOR EXAMPLE: by hiring additional 50 testers and releasing game less buggy).
CDPR also said that they are looking into Linux market and if they will ever decide that it's profitable for them, then they will start releasing their games on Linux and will add Linux support on GOG.
Yeah, maybe, but I'd like to stress that breaking even would be a very conservative scenario here.
They could probably do it even just selling TW3 on Steam-linux.
But let's consider the hypothetical scenario where Steambox is launched, it performs reasonably well (without even needing to blow away competitors like PS4 or Xbox 3, let's say 3 to 5 million pieces sold) and you have suddenly this large user base of new Linux users with a new gaming platform craving for appealing big games.
Do you actually see any harm in TW3 being ready for that market?
It would also be a long term investment. Few years down the road Adroid-based devices would be powerful enough to manage this kind of products, and given how popular Android is even today, they would have a killer application ready.
Beside, if it's really an issue about manpower, ports can be outsourced. And most Linux ports today are often handled barely by one or two programmers.
They could probably do it even just selling TW3 on Steam-linux.
But let's consider the hypothetical scenario where Steambox is launched, it performs reasonably well (without even needing to blow away competitors like PS4 or Xbox 3, let's say 3 to 5 million pieces sold) and you have suddenly this large user base of new Linux users with a new gaming platform craving for appealing big games.
Do you actually see any harm in TW3 being ready for that market?
It would also be a long term investment. Few years down the road Adroid-based devices would be powerful enough to manage this kind of products, and given how popular Android is even today, they would have a killer application ready.
Beside, if it's really an issue about manpower, ports can be outsourced. And most Linux ports today are often handled barely by one or two programmers.
I don't see problem with being ready for this. I see no reason with doing that when you already doing a lot of things especially when it can be big flop. You don't loose anything if you will release it a little bit later when you can already see that it is real market. I don't see reason for throwing money to support Linux so early, unless you are Valve and you wish to destroy Windows market.
Maybe one of the next gen consoles is the Valve console.Aver said:
Anyway, they surprised us all with the Mac version, they could do it again. I definitely think it's something that gaming companies are going to have to think about more - the gaming world may not be dominated by MS/Sony for ever, and it would be shortsighted of any developer not to at least do a serious assessment.
You're just saying that because you play TW2 in Wine...LicaonKter said:+1/>
So do I, which means TW3 is a non purchase (uses DX11). A native Linux build would get a buy from me the day it's released.
Well, why then anyone will switch to PS4 or the neXtbox? They will lose the access to all their previously owned titles, won't they?Aver said:
What I meant is that it's certainly possible that Steambox, and incidentally, Linux will be popular enough as a gaming platform. There just should be some powerful release titles. And with Valve's might behind it, it's certainly possible. Valve might finally release HL3 on SteamBox, who knows? This would be a huge push. Also, it's already known that Infinity Ward is developing a game for SteamBox: https://twitter.com/InfinityWard/status/307645457117618176
So, it seems that Activision will be backing it. Valve+Activision already make up for quite some high profile games. Knowing good ties between Valve and Bethesda, I wouldn't be surprised if, say, Bethesda releases a Linux version of Skyrim.
Since CD Projekt already developed an OpenGL version of their old engine, it's certainly possible that they will have an OpenGL version of the new engine as well. It's even more likely in view of the rumors that PS4 will be running OpenGL. If these rumors are true, then, since PS4 is already confirmd, The Witcher 3 will certainly have an OpenGL version of the engine.
If they will already have an OpenGL version of the engine, releasing a Linux version will be essentially effortless. And in view of SteamBox being released soon, it'll certainly be profitable.
So, IMO, releasing a Linux version of The Witcher 3 is certainly a good idea for CD Projekt. It's a win-win decision.
EDIT:
By the way, Steam for Linux is officially out only for a couple of weeks (if you include the open beta period, it becomes "slightly over two months"), and, according to Steam Hardware Survey, the total number of Steam users on Linux is already close to the total number of Mac users, at 2.02% of the total number of users (while the Mac version is at 3.07%, being available for already 3 years and currently having many more playable titles than the Linux one).
The data is taken from Steam's site: http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey.
So it's quite evident that releasing a Linux version will be more profitable than releasing a Mac version, even without taking SteamBox into account.
If, however, one DOES take SteamBox into account, releasing a Linux version of the game becomes an obvious decision, IMO.
Indie devs have seen a larger portion of people purchase their Linux versions on Steam than Mac versions. In fact at least one dev posted that their Linux sales are nearly as high as the title's lifetime Mac sales. And it's still early days.
Fake edit: The title was Dungeon Defenders I believe. Other devs corroborate that they see a 3x bump over Mac sales as well.
Fake edit: The title was Dungeon Defenders I believe. Other devs corroborate that they see a 3x bump over Mac sales as well.
I must of missed it, but when/re did they say it's DX11?Mblackwell said:
10xCostinMoroianu said:
anyway, as others there said, DirectX11 on Windows and OpenGL4 on PS4 and the likes of Mac/Linux sounds ok to me
Well, it seems that there is a good chance of Linux being supported. The Witcher 3 Project Lead said the following in a recent interview:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-07-cd-projekt-independence-is-a-crucial-part-of-a-our-strategy
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-07-cd-projekt-independence-is-a-crucial-part-of-a-our-strategy
So, he all but confirmed that future CDP games will be released on SteamBox, which, as we know, will run Linux.
It depends to an extent on what Apple does with OpenGL. Right now they're locked on 3.2 and have given no indication of support for 3.3 or any 4.x version. I'm less familiar with details of OpenGL versions than I should be, but I think you would want at least 4.2 for new work.LicaonKter said:
yep, it needs OpenGL4 to have on par features with DX11, and the Linux closed-source drivers provided by AMD and nVidia do provide that on capable cards.
If they launch for the intitial iteration at least yes. I believe Valve said vendors would be able to release Windows based versions as long as they adhere to specs, but I don't have a link handy.jerf said:
I did mention this in another thread as well, but part of the issue some devs have had is the lack of a stable platform and not necessarily wanting to bundle static libraries for everything (which can lead to some ridiculousness). Fortunately Steam solves this problem by gradually including common libraries that apps use as part of itself. Developers can compile against Steam rather than Fedora 16 (for example) and as long as the user has Steam installed they will be able to run the application. Of course developers can still use system libraries or bundle their own if they would like.
That's the reason you see such ridiculously large Steam updates on Linux.