The Reason Some Games Are Delayed For Linux In Humble Indie Bundles

The problem is, if the developer didn't port it themselves as is the case with a lot of HIB games on Linux they need to rely on whoever ported it for updates, which usually means paying that developer out of their pocket to keep updating it and most don't do that.

Dungeon Defenders probably stopped paying Icculus hence no more updates.

Liam, I think you have been way too harsh on HIB here. Also, I think you should have disclosed you were a beta tester for them in the past.

I don't think that Jeff's answer was cocky at all. (And with all due respect, if you think that was cocky I think you should re-read your news post.)

The game in question is likely only being ported due to inclusion in the humble bundle, and it's supposed to be launched in March. As someone who follows game development you should appreciate that it takes time to get games finished, the same goes for ports. It's hard, there are unforeseen problems that will arise. It's almost certainly the first time they've ported to Mac and Linux.

Quoting: liamdaweHumble feel it would harm their reputation to ask a developer to sit out and wait for the next bundle for the sake of a Linux version.

They would have signed contracts with the developers in question. For some developers the money they make from the bundles makes a big difference to their incomes. You may not be aware of the clauses in those contracts, but I suspect that there are protections built into them for both parties. Upsetting a subset of your customers may well hurt HIB, but HIB being in breach of a contract would hurt them a lot as well. (HIB needs gamers to support them, but they also need developers to trust them or else they wouldn't exist.)

Quoting: annonyThere doesn't seem to be lot of the humble spirit left in these Humble Bundles. How the cross-platform requirement can be painful for Humble Bundle and their reputation when it once was one of the main points of the whole thing.

I'm thankful for their work and impact on the business. I just feel that these recent bundles haven't been as fun as they should be for everyone involved.

I think the two most recent bundles have had some of the most fun games, actually. Hoard, Reus and To The Moon were great. In the current bundle Guacamelee is truely brilliant, and the rest of HIB11 is really good too. (And Papers Please might well be the Tuesday BTA release...)

I don't think I wash harsh enough personally.

If you are going to use a tagline of "cross-platform" then be cross-platform or:
a) Use a new tagline
b) Wait for the next bundle

I don't think it is crazy for me to expect "cross-platform" to actually mean it.

That is my main point.

Quoting: liamdaweI don't think I wash harsh enough personally.

If you are going to use a tagline of "cross-platform" then be cross-platform or:
a) Use a new tagline
b) Wait for the next bundle

I don't think it is crazy for me to expect "cross-platform" to actually mean it.

That is my main point.

I think you are dismissing my point about contracts. And this is a *single* game in the bundle having it's port delayed a *month*. On the other hand if you were a two person indie team and you were told you'd be in the next HIB, despite your best attempts at getting the port done. (the devs spend money, time or both to get the ports done, to get into the HIB.) you bump them 6 months and that is going to hurt them. a lot.

"March is planned, but you know, developers and planning.... But shouldn't be too long"

It's made entirely apparent on the HIB page that the game isn't ready yet, and it's one game of probably 10 games of which 9 will be probably be available. Hell we have to wait a week until the BTA games are released, as it is.

Oh I'm not dismissing that at all, I just think it should be part of the contract to have all ports ready that's all.

Quoting: liamdaweOh I'm not dismissing that at all, I just think it should be part of the contract to have all ports ready that's all.

I am sure they would have clauses in the contract that say just that. I would think there would be penalties (or rather disincentives) to not having the port ready.

Maybe they lose 5% of their gross, who knows? I haven't seen the contract, neither have you. However you called him cocky for talking about something that you don't know anything about. I think that is really unfair.

Personally I think his reply does sound a little cocky, cocky also isn't a bad term FYI it means:

QuoteConceited or confident in a bold or cheeky way.

So I am essentially saying he sounded a bit cheeky. Don't think I am being so negative when I am not ;)

Quoting: HamishMy main problem here is that all of Humble Bundles' previous forays into murky waters have always been met by the same people saying that "at least the Humble Indie Bundles will stay the same!"

A lot of people have either accepted or justified other questionable moves done by Humble Bundle by extolling the virtues of the magical "HIB" label. Well, now it appears that the "HIB" label is not the wondrous protective charm some might have hoped. It also has room for uncomfortable compromise.

I am actually not that bothered by the specific details involved in this particular instance; as long as the games do get ported it is not all that harmful. It is the trends involved that I find concerning.

This about sums up my feelings. I am unhappy with poor non working ports being pushed and delays but the fact they seem to dip into questionable (origin bundle) type things it starts to make them just another store. Yes it's for charity but I always thought it was for Linux too. guess i could be wrong.

dungeon defenders, I personally didn't have that many issues and I also got it in the same bundle for Android.

Anyway I don't think is worth complaining at this moment (EPIC unreal engine is also to blame) and instead you guys should watch over DD2 and make sure the dev does it right from the start this time:

http://dungeondefenders2.com/blog/

Quoting: berarmaI think what HIB is trying to accomplish isn't easy yet, they're still going against the current after all this time.

The thing is, and maybe this was all just some big illusion from the start, it did not really seem all that difficult nor that penalizing for them go against the grain before. The bundles were a huge success from the start providing exactly what we were desiring, and surely it has actually gotten easier to get a bundle done now that they have so much more presence and pull.

It just seems that the more successful they have gotten the less effort they have put in, which for a business built on consumer goodwill is not a great image to have.

It also makes it seem all the more unfair for the developers that actually do put the effort in to make the ports and then get them in on time that such exceptions are made when other developers can instead sell a guarantee, or just bypass it altogether by releasing their wares in a non cross-platform bundle.

Quoting: berarmaSteam is getting a lot of praise here, and the others get a lot of criticism like this. I'd say a lot of games on Steam are there thanks to HIB, Unity, and individuals pushing for it, like the porters, Ryan and others. Valve's interest in GNU/Linux is totally selfish compared to those others that are really pushing, IMHO.

To be fair, Steam does get plenty of criticism on GoL. Largely from me. ;)

Quoting: berarmaWhile I think HIB could do better and I will push for that, I wouldn't be too hard but rather have a lot of respect for what they do.

We all have a lot of respect for what they do. That is why we are all here talking about them in the first place. That does not mean that we will not criticize when we see fault; we respect them enough to take them seriously, and that is actually the greatest praise any institution can get.