Star Citizen For Linux Is Being Held Up By Crytek

Well, the posting they had for a Linux dev at CryTek seems to be filled, so hopefully it means they're still working on it! ;)

In same time Frontier Developers with "that other space sim" "Elite: Dangerous" just rolled out their OS X version with Mono for launcher and OpenGL 4.1 for actual game (it's C++ with engine wrapper). I run a campaign for making a plea to FD to make ED Linux version https://www.change.org/p/frontier-developments-plc-port-elite-dangerous-to-linux-desktop

As for Crytek itself....I really don't know if they will ever succeed in porting CryEngine 3.0 to OpenGL, sorry.

Well, I have no idea about the Kickstarter promises, but I prefer a "working" 1.0 release instead of a garbage release like Dying Light. Therefore, I found his excuse acceptable.

It would seem to me that a game of this scale and complexity would be a "shoe in" for Vulkan/DX12 to get it to as many gamers as possible. With it still in what I would consider "early" development it would make sense to me to move it to an engine that supports Vulkan and DX12 to be able to "create their vision" for the game, which is GRAND IMO.. should they pull it off.

That being said.. I'll post here what I have been posting everywhere when talking about Vulkan and/or DX12...

I want to think that DX12 will be dead in the water. From the info gathered thus far, what is the main difference in Vulkan and DX12? DX12 will lock your code to Windows 10+. Since we already know Vulkan is "based" on Mantle and after seeing THIS today it may be safe to say that DX12 is quite similar to Mantle as well.

So what am I getting at here you may ask? well.. I'll tell you.. In this day and age when MANY people have multiple devices, in multiple form factors, from multiple manufactures and running a range of operating systems.. what kind of severe mental illness would you have to have to think that using an API that locks your code to a single platform (DX12 -> Win10) is a good idea?!?!?! when you will have Vulkan that seems to be essentially the same thing and will work on ALL of those devices and platforms! (Vulkan -> Linux, Win 10,8,7,xp?, Mac, Android, IOS, PS4, PS3?, WiiU, Wii? etc.. you get the idea). Choosing DX would be insanity!

end rant.. sorry :P



^ I mean.. c'mon.. if not given permission that would be considered plagiarism by any sane person lol.

EDIT again* i just came up with a catchy little jingle based on The Wizard of Oz that I hope I/we can be singing in the next couple of years :D

Ding Dong! DX is dead. Which DX? The damn MS DX!
Ding Dong! The Wicked DX is dead.

Quoting: rea987Well, I have no idea about the Kickstarter promises, but I prefer a "working" 1.0 release instead of a garbage release like Dying Light. Therefore, I found his excuse acceptable.

It's also a solid excuse. I've not seen any or enough benchmarks on Phoronix where I don't keep telling myself that right now on Linux a 780 ti is the best option because the performance wall starts at that GPU and nothing is really faster. I can see Vulkan and maybe SteamOS changing this, Vulkan being the most important.

I'm really happy to hear they're looking into Vulkan. Cryengine and SC are two things I've been nothing but excited for and besides Crytek's management issues they've had, they've stayed good in my book. The sooner they start working on Vulkan, the better I think the API will turn out.

Quoting: EKRboiwhat kind of severe mental illness would you have to have to think that using an API that locks your code to a single platform (DX12 -> Win10) is a good idea?!?!?! when you will have Vulkan that seems to be essentially the same thing and will work on ALL of those devices and platforms! (Vulkan -> Linux, Win 10,8,7,xp?, Mac, Android, IOS, PS4, PS3?, WiiU, Wii? etc.. you get the idea). Choosing DX would be insanity!

You know, I used to be pretty pessimistic about this; that Microsoft had the PC gaming industry under very tight control which has basically come from their utter dominance in the O/S of choice. Everyone [developers] used direct3D because 99% of gamers used windows.
I'd even argue that there is still that attitude; dev budgets are limited, and they want to maximise their return on investment. The case for bothering to support non-windows platforms was present, but still not enough to justify the budget of actually setting up a decent cross-platform dev environment.

However, I feel like the momentum now is definitely changing. We are at a big turning point where direct3D is really starting to not make as much sense, even for the big development teams. We've got some huge names behind Linux gaming, we've got some huge names behind Vulkan, and it's getting to the stage where Microsoft and direct3D are hopefully becoming the niche-product. I'd even argue that having the PS4 on x86 helps the case for big companies to invest in *good* cross-platform development, and that non-direct3D is no longer something to be scared of.

I'm excitied! :-)

The fact they're looking into Vulkan is great news, I'm not much of a space sim fan but Star Citizen seems to offer so much content that It's almost impossible to say no :P

I agree with what has been said above, times are surely changing for Microsoft, Direct X and games. Many devs are updating their engines for better Cross-platform support which should enable simultaneous releases across all 3 PC OS's. Linux may still be in the minority amongst gamers but it is swiftly becoming a viable alternative, especially for those who are on a tight budget or simply tired of Microsoft's padlocks all over Windows.

the good thing about Vulkan is that it is a primary concern of Valve so it should be stable by November. Plus with what i've seen Vulkan can do performance wise, it's a no brainer that it can't get here soon enough. but it will all come in due time. So I will continue to be patient and see what all happens once Vulkan has become the new standard.

Quoting: edenist

Quoting: EKRboiwhat kind of severe mental illness would you have to have to think that using an API that locks your code to a single platform (DX12 -> Win10) is a good idea?!?!?! when you will have Vulkan that seems to be essentially the same thing and will work on ALL of those devices and platforms! (Vulkan -> Linux, Win 10,8,7,xp?, Mac, Android, IOS, PS4, PS3?, WiiU, Wii? etc.. you get the idea). Choosing DX would be insanity!

You know, I used to be pretty pessimistic about this; that Microsoft had the PC gaming industry under very tight control which has basically come from their utter dominance in the O/S of choice. Everyone [developers] used direct3D because 99% of gamers used windows.
I'd even argue that there is still that attitude; dev budgets are limited, and they want to maximise their return on investment. The case for bothering to support non-windows platforms was present, but still not enough to justify the budget of actually setting up a decent cross-platform dev environment.

However, I feel like the momentum now is definitely changing. We are at a big turning point where direct3D is really starting to not make as much sense, even for the big development teams. We've got some huge names behind Linux gaming, we've got some huge names behind Vulkan, and it's getting to the stage where Microsoft and direct3D are hopefully becoming the niche-product. I'd even argue that having the PS4 on x86 helps the case for big companies to invest in *good* cross-platform development, and that non-direct3D is no longer something to be scared of.

I'm excitied! :-)

Exactly my point. DX no longer makes sense! THANK GOD!