It's always sad to read things like this. The developer of Frozen Synapse Prime has spoken out about why there's no Linux port, and the news for us isn't exactly peachy.
It's not just sad to see, but I dislike writing about things like this. The reason I do is just to highlight the struggles we face as a platform.
The developer mentions that even with their engine already being cross-platform for both Linux & Mac they won't be doing a port.
In reply to a user being frustrated about it, the developer said this:
QuoteI really dont know how to reply to this. Put yourself in my position.
We have launched 2 PC/Mac/Linux titles, on the first we did the mac/linux versions 1 month later. It wasn't worthwhile. We thought the problem may have been the fact we didn't sim launch. On our next title we were day 1 with all 3 platforms, sales were still atrocious.
Mac/Linux account for 9% & 1% of overall sales respectively. If that 9% or 1% in revenue is not the cost of the port. we will not do it.
Every version of this game costs a fortune to QA and ready for release. Even using cross platform tools ( which we do ) and with an engine that already supports Linux/Mac. Especially given OpenGL performance is horrendous and just supporting linux after release costs a fortune.
I am not going to argue this any further. Like I said, put yourself in my position,
I am in a forum speaking honestly about my experiences, I have 12 years professional game dev experience as a game developer and engineer. I have also ran my own company for 5 years and dealt with all of the money/business affairs, whilst still getting my hands as dirty in development as usual. I have also launched 3 games on Steam and numerous others on other platforms.
Who do you think actually knows the most about this?
The developer carried on the communication some more too:
QuoteOur engine is cross platform and does support both Mac and Linux, however by the time we have solved all of the GPU driver performance issues, all the nuances full screen and controllers and all of the standard system stuff., then put through a full test and dealt with all of the edge cases. It will cost us over £30k. Quite simply we wont get it back.
For an engine that is already cross-platform, £30K for a Linux version sounds like a bit of a stretch since most of the leg-work has already been done. I'm no developer of course, but even with support costs for answering emails, dealing with distribution specific issues etc, 30K seems a bit steep.
The only light at the end of the tunnel was this:
QuoteI would quite happily hand it to anyone who was prepared to do it themselves and they can have almost everything it makes..
What do you think folks? See this forum post for the full info. Remember to be polite to the developers. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: Garoghow do they count linux sales ?
[...] I don't switch to linux just to buy a game, but when i buy a game i check if its for linux or not.
i only buy games that are released for linux..
Rule of thumb, the platform you purchase and install it on is the platform that will count. There's some exceptions, like if you purchase on Windows but install and play it on Linux during the first month after install, it will count as a Linux sale I believe.
But just to be sure and to keep things simple, I'd say: Purchase, install and play the game on Linux to make sure it counts.
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Quoting: HadBabits"On our next title we were day 1 with all 3 platforms, sales were still atrocious."
After a bit of searching, I found said title: Frozen Cortex. It's a $25 early access, turn-based sports game. Not to be rude, but COME ON. It's an interesting concept, sure, I remember thinking I might check it out once it's released fully, because how many people (Linux or Windows) avoid pricey early access games? Quite a few, I imagine. Especially since we Linux gamers have to be more scrupulous about buying games that have proper Linux support.
Mode 7 did not develop Frozen Synapse Prime, just the original. This dev responding is not from Mode 7 so he's not talking about Frozen Cortex. He could be talking about Goat Simulator as Double eleven has been involved in that. Let's blame the right party at least. :)
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Yes, I got that confused as well: http://steamcommunity.com/app/328600/discussions/0/624074858812458996/?tscn=1416146179#c624075036433295928 :)
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Considering how bad reviews are on steam I don't think we are missing much.
I have a steam gift copy of the original Frozen Synapse if anyone who doesn't own it yet is interested.
I have a steam gift copy of the original Frozen Synapse if anyone who doesn't own it yet is interested.
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Honestly I'm not too surprised about this. I looked at Frozen Synapse and my first thought was "Great another Indie game I don't want to buy" It's sad but true. Steam is being flooded right now with lots of low end titles that I frankly can't be bothered to pickup outside of a Humble Bundle. I and I'm sure other people are chomping at the bit for a real game like Star Citizen, Satellite Reign, or something big from Aspyr's collection (think Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Neverwinter Nights 2) to appear. The indie scene is an ocean of mediocrity. I know that's going to be offensive to a lot of people, but I'm just telling it as I see it. I want titles like Descent 3, and Heroes of Might and Magic 3.Sure they're old but they're still AAA+ titles. Right now I own over 100 Linux games and I play 0 of them, mainly because none of them are compelling enough. GOG is also exciting to me because they're going to be releasing games onto Linux, but it's a bit frustrating waiting for their DOSBOX titles to hurry up and port.
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Ah, thanks for pointing that out, Badber. As for as I can tell (judging from my steam search), PixelJunk Shooter is probably the 2nd game (considering the GOL release article coincides with the original PC release date), PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate being the first.
Ok. I do respect PixelJunk Shooter. It was a solid game on a gameplay level(albeit with a superfluous story), keeping in mind I couldn't play on my old laptop with AMD graphics. But it does make me sad that it didn't do better. That said, the audience looking for Arcade-y co-op games are probably more on consoles.
As for Monsters Ultimate... Tower Defense? How many people are looking to pay for a tower defense game these days unless they really shake it up? Looks like the same stuff I played on little flash websites years ago with incrementally nicer visuals!
Anyway, I may be getting too personal here, so I'll end with this. If a dev doesn't think it won't make it's money back for porting, that's a valid reason and I understand. However, in light of some of the commenters, it sounds like they have a community willing to bring that cost down and hopefully they reconsider.
Ok. I do respect PixelJunk Shooter. It was a solid game on a gameplay level(albeit with a superfluous story), keeping in mind I couldn't play on my old laptop with AMD graphics. But it does make me sad that it didn't do better. That said, the audience looking for Arcade-y co-op games are probably more on consoles.
As for Monsters Ultimate... Tower Defense? How many people are looking to pay for a tower defense game these days unless they really shake it up? Looks like the same stuff I played on little flash websites years ago with incrementally nicer visuals!
Anyway, I may be getting too personal here, so I'll end with this. If a dev doesn't think it won't make it's money back for porting, that's a valid reason and I understand. However, in light of some of the commenters, it sounds like they have a community willing to bring that cost down and hopefully they reconsider.
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Quoting: DMJCHonestly I'm not too surprised about this. I looked at Frozen Synapse and my first thought was "Great another Indie game I don't want to buy" It's sad but true. Steam is being flooded right now with lots of low end titles that I frankly can't be bothered to pickup outside of a Humble Bundle.
I liked XCom very much and played it for more than 120 hours.
Frozen Synapse (the "vanilla" one) made be play it more than 200 hours and that's the largest amount I dumped into a game since I'm using steam (and perhaps ever?).
I wouldn't have bought it, as yes, it looks ugly, but got it as a gift, and it is a extremely good game with a very nice multiplayer community.
If you're into multiplayer tactics, I recommend getting the original one.
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PublicNuisance Nov 17, 2014
I can respect the man's honesty.
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Instead of complaining anyone who wants the game can port it themselves. They're kinda giving you the go ahead there.
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I'm sure the guy is being honest and upfront, mostly. I don't believe it's the best practice to calculate game sales off of platform sales, because platform sales are not precise and they are great investments. One passionate player on the paltry Linux side of things can sell the game to 10 other people who might not have bought it otherwise; it's just good advertisement to have your game on all platforms.
But the fact still remains that Linux gaming is a small market. So is Mac, which is why they also don't get all but the major releases. We are dependent upon SteamOS to propel us into the realm of people who are using Linux without caring that they are using Linux (because in their minds they are using SteamOS), and I can only hope that Valve markets the hell out of SteamOS.
But the fact still remains that Linux gaming is a small market. So is Mac, which is why they also don't get all but the major releases. We are dependent upon SteamOS to propel us into the realm of people who are using Linux without caring that they are using Linux (because in their minds they are using SteamOS), and I can only hope that Valve markets the hell out of SteamOS.
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