Oh boy, I do love a good rant from a developer. This time it's the C4 engine dropping Linux support (honestly, how many of you have even heard of C4?).
Warning: It's a real rant.
Choice quote from their announcement
QuoteThis decision was made based on the disproportionate cost, both in terms of time and money, that we incur to support Linux relative to a very small return on our investment. This decision was also made to preserve my own sanity since my personal experiences with Linux have been extremely negative and have resulted in huge wastes of time that could have been better spent on more productive tasks. Terathon Software will no longer contribute to the popularity of an operating system that I personally view as inferior in design to both Windows and Mac OS X. Linux has proven to be Frankenstein OS assembled from a disparate array of barely functioning parts with horrible reliability and little potential for future improvement. Time that would have been spent on Linux support will now be used to strengthen our product on platforms with much greater viability.
The comments are just, amazing. One commenter provided this funny image:
And the developer responded with:
QuoteIt's my expert opinion, man.
Oh my, I mean there's being a good developer, and there's being a bit full of yourself.
He has also been dropping gems on his Twitter account:
Finished excision of Linux code from the C4 Engine. Negative 2008 lines. Good riddance.
— Eric Lengyel (@EricLengyel) January 10, 2015I have reached the point where I feel morally obligated to drop all support for Linux.
— Eric Lengyel (@EricLengyel) January 10, 2015Things like this are concerning though, and it is a real issue:
I love it when Ubuntu starts freezing for no good reason right before the login screen. That's high-quality engineering right there.
— Eric Lengyel (@EricLengyel) December 26, 2014I do wonder if it is a hardware or a driver issue, my last freezing issue turned out to be RAM that failed at specific things.
We don't often write about people ranting about Linux, and for one developer making a full bit of kit like C4 it can be time consuming, so we don't have much to say other than "oh well". We still have many more better engines around.
All hail Frankenstein, in Frankenstein we trust. Move along.
P.S. Please try to keep comments reasonable about this topic. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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We were actually interested in using this engine. They lost a customer though. Oh well.
8 Likes, Who?
FutureSuture 12 Jan 2015
I have managed to install various distros on USB devices, HDDs, and SSDs. Does that mean I am a pr0 hax0r now?
7 Likes, Who?
Sounds like someone needed to learn Linux before attempting to support delivery to it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4_Engine#Games_using_C4
Looking over the list of games that use this engine, we're really going to be missing out by this decision. Truly, the loss of triple-AAA hit titles like "Gremlin Invasion", "Gremlin Invasion: Survivor" and "City Bus Simulator 2010" will be devastating to the Linux gaming community.
Looking over the list of games that use this engine, we're really going to be missing out by this decision. Truly, the loss of triple-AAA hit titles like "Gremlin Invasion", "Gremlin Invasion: Survivor" and "City Bus Simulator 2010" will be devastating to the Linux gaming community.
17 Likes, Who?
never heard of this engine, and looking at the games made with it, that's no suprise either
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First of: Victor Frankenstein was depicted as a genius, a man who would not fall behind others and kept on dreaming. He used... "unconvential" methods to achieve his goals, but then again, he was the genius who defied god and the first living being to create artificial, highly intelligent and feeling life.
So I assume the "superior" developer actually meant Frankenstein´s Monster. Well, the monster was stronger, faster and more determined than all other humans.
Apart from that: Not every random idiot should get a platform.
So I assume the "superior" developer actually meant Frankenstein´s Monster. Well, the monster was stronger, faster and more determined than all other humans.
Apart from that: Not every random idiot should get a platform.
5 Likes, Who?
I can't trust a developer who actually fails to install ubuntu! and he spent the whole day!:
https://twitter.com/EricLengyel/status/552672506016825345
https://twitter.com/EricLengyel/status/552672506016825345
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Well I guess this nobody of a developer knows better than valve.
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FYI, the developer that called himself an "expert" (I assume he means it in the same way that Apple Store employees are "geniuses" ) tweeted about his inability to install ubuntu on a computer after a full day of effort.
After looking up some more information, it appears that he has a PhD in comp. sci., but if my experience interviewing applicants for a job at one of my previous work places is any indication, that means absolutely nothing. I interviewed a guy with a doctorate and two master's degrees who had some of the most unreadable, over-complicated sample code I've ever read. I ferretted out bugs just by reading the code, and it didn't even perform well. I rewrote it to be cleaner and more flexible, perform better, and have less bugs, and I ended up with a script 1/3 the line count.
I'm not saying that this Eric Lengyel is exactly the same as the guy I interviewed ... but I bet he's not far off.
After looking up some more information, it appears that he has a PhD in comp. sci., but if my experience interviewing applicants for a job at one of my previous work places is any indication, that means absolutely nothing. I interviewed a guy with a doctorate and two master's degrees who had some of the most unreadable, over-complicated sample code I've ever read. I ferretted out bugs just by reading the code, and it didn't even perform well. I rewrote it to be cleaner and more flexible, perform better, and have less bugs, and I ended up with a script 1/3 the line count.
I'm not saying that this Eric Lengyel is exactly the same as the guy I interviewed ... but I bet he's not far off.
4 Likes, Who?
i think this guy never heard of that "never go full retard" thing.
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StianTheDark 12 Jan 2015
Linux has proven to be Frankenstein OS assembled from a disparate array of barely functioning parts with horrible reliability and little potential for future improvement.
There are a lot of bad arguments against Linux, but this guy is one of a kind. If 'disparate array of barely functioning parts' means that drivers are built into the kernel and that it uses a much more efficient filesystem, then sure! But I'm not sure thats what he meant ;)
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You could say the Linux version of C4 just... blew up.
*Hides from the pun police.*
*Hides from the pun police.*
15 Likes, Who?
Did he even use the same Linux that we know?... What he described sounds nothing like the Linux I and many others use.
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You could say the Linux version of C4 just... blew up.Wow I'm impressed... I mean, I'm blown away.
*Hides from the pun police.*
More seriously, he should have called it TNT.
View video on youtube.com
Well I'm too destroyed by now, must lay to rest.
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We were actually interested in using this engine. They lost a customer though. Oh well.
You should definitely tell them!
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"expert" => "problems with apt-get"
something is wrong with this equation, lol. but, i guess some people do agree with things like that. youtube confirms this
View video on youtube.com
something is wrong with this equation, lol. but, i guess some people do agree with things like that. youtube confirms this
View video on youtube.com
3 Likes, Who?
Alex V.Sharp 12 Jan 2015
I'm never really happy to hear about setbacks like these, but then again I'm content as long as it's not some of the bigger players backing out. Honestly this was hardly worth an article imho and will probably stir more drama than was necessary. :/
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Normally we should look at these Linux hating rants to better see the weaknesses of Linux game development. However, there is absolutely no substance in his post. Some configurations can be painful to install Linux (Windows too), but the rest of his complaints are pure garbage
"Linux has proven to be Frankenstein OS assembled from a disparate array of barely functioning parts with horrible reliability and little potential for future improvement."
None of those things are even remotely correct. It's so wrong I laughed when I read it. Linux game development has a lot of short comings, but he doesn't mention any of them.
"Linux has proven to be Frankenstein OS assembled from a disparate array of barely functioning parts with horrible reliability and little potential for future improvement."
None of those things are even remotely correct. It's so wrong I laughed when I read it. Linux game development has a lot of short comings, but he doesn't mention any of them.
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I have never heard of C4 engine
Probably for a good reason, hahaha
Probably for a good reason, hahaha
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And of course Rich Geldreich jumps in to bash Linux too... *sigh*
Just because the engine doesn't have any big-name titles on it doesn't mean this isn't a loss. Any loss is not a good loss for Linux. His hostility out of nowhere is generally annoying, but I'd rather not have seen him pull Linux support.
Just because the engine doesn't have any big-name titles on it doesn't mean this isn't a loss. Any loss is not a good loss for Linux. His hostility out of nowhere is generally annoying, but I'd rather not have seen him pull Linux support.
3 Likes, Who?
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