Aspyr Media sent out a tweet today for Linux gamers stating that Civilization VI [Steam] for Linux is still possible.
This is a good sign, but we still don't have much information as to what exactly is going on. Originally the game was confirmed by the publisher to me directly, and a tweet from the official Civilization confirmed a Linux version. Then recently Aspyr Media said it was a possibility.
This new tweet doesn't offer anything new, but the fact that they are still talking about it should be taken as a good sign.
Wanted to address a section of our fans that may feel left out recently. Dear Linux users, we haven't forgotten you! CivVI is still possible
— Aspyr Media (@AspyrMedia) October 24, 2016
A developer from Aspyr Media also said this on Reddit when asked what stage it was at:
QuoteWe are still in a research state at this point. Bottom line, we need to prove to ourselves and our partners that a Linux version can perform to our standards. What I can say in ernest is, we are actively pursuing that viability standard.
I really hope Aspyr Media manage to pull through for us! Whatever the issues they are facing may be, let's hope we get such a massively popular title.
The game has currently over 100K people playing, and it's constantly sat in the top five most played games on Steam right now. To miss out on this, would be a tragedy for us.
Thanks for pointing out the tweet to me Gary.
Quoting: bgh251f2Saying It is Still possible is not very reassuring. I'd prefer if they had said nothing.So have I. I felt like slapped in the face.
But just to understand it (maybe somebody here has a clue): Does anybody know why the
publisher (or developer) wouldn't support 3rd party porting?
They still get money (not as much as if they were porting it on their own,
but more than nothing). Or are there general porting costs involved (one fixed down payment +
share of every linux/mac version sold)?
Feel free to enlighten me!
Best regards
lagh
Last edited by lagh on 24 October 2016 at 7:44 pm UTC
Quoting: elbuglione
Don't let your dreams be dreams!
(sidenote, Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander and Star Citizen fame) only saw that video just recently, in spite of having, y'know, lived it's message...)
Honestly, risking that this comes off more rant-y than I intend: the mere fact that so many people are playing right now on Steam shows just how important it is to get same day releases on Linux. Or, at the very least, get something a little more concrete than a maybe for a release date. It hurts Linux and SteamOS and, though I'm sure Aspyr is trying their best, this is the sort of thing that should have been sorted out a long time ago. The publisher certainly thought that Linux support was coming months in advance from release, so why can't we have the simple courtesy of hearing the same from the would-be porter? Honestly, Feral did a better job about keeping us informed about their XCOM 2 port before release and it was also a 2k/Firaxis game.
Edit: Just saw the reddit statement. I don't know what they could possibly be researching at this stage. The OSX port will be using OpenGL so it's not an additional API issue. Besides which, they've had (presumably) several months to look at the game and code. The lack of clarity and wording makes me suspect it's simply a investment/returns for man hours issue. However well rationalized by them, I still feel like I'm being treated like a second class citizen.
Last edited by BTRE on 24 October 2016 at 7:55 pm UTC
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