Civilization VI for Linux is no longer certain, only a possibility

Quoting: uriilF*ck Aspyr
I was waiting it and now this :-(

There's no need to be rude.

Maybe some middleware does not have a linux version and this is not something Aspyr could do anything about.
Middlewares can be a huge problem for ports and their use is decided by the game developers.

I have to say Aspyr has been dropping the ball in recent times. They havent put a game out in like 9 months and not much happening with regard to anouncements either. What should be interesting though is given their relationship with 2K if we will see a Mafia III port announced anytime soon and if so if it will only be Mac or Linux aswell.

Quoting: barottoMiddlewares can be a huge problem for ports and their use is decided by the game developers.

I am sorry, but if they plan to release a game on platforms other than Windows (and they obviously did, as Linux/Mac were confirmed when the game was announced), and then use Windows-only middleware to make it, they are stupid. You can't just write a Windows game using Windows development tools and then hope the thing will magically compile on Mac or Linux. If you want to deploy multi-platform, you need to develop multi-platform.

Yep, as a game developer I can confirm that middleware can be a showstopper when it comes to portability. We use a special FX software which only supports Windows and (supposedly, but not really) Mac for our current Unity-project.
The consequence: Chances for a Linux version are nearly zero unless said middleware gets Linux support, and unless its horrendous Mac bugs are fixed, Mac support is on hold as well...

I was thinking about pre-ordering the game the other day trusting on the previous announcement and the existence of Linux version of Civ V and BE. But at the last minute I decided to wait until the Steam OS icon was in the shop to be sure that it would count as a Linux sale.

Now I'm glad I didn't buy it. Well, I will wait, see the reviews and if the game is any good and in the future gets release on Linux I will think about buying it again.

Hope they share information about their troubles. There are many of us who are trying to work on improving Linux as a platform for games, so feedback from developers about the challenges help a lot. Of course some things are mostly out of our hands like issues with game engines and such, but many are not. For instance we are introducing quite a few fixes to Fedora Workstation 25 based on trying to make it more accommodating for games.

Quoting: soulsourceYep, as a game developer I can confirm that middleware can be a showstopper when it comes to portability. We use a special FX software which only supports Windows and (supposedly, but not really) Mac for our current Unity-project.

We're all well aware of that sort of issue. The question we have, since even us users are well aware of it, is why developers keep choosing to use middleware that isn't cross platform when they've promised to release cross platform?

Quoting: wintermute

Quoting: soulsourceYep, as a game developer I can confirm that middleware can be a showstopper when it comes to portability. We use a special FX software which only supports Windows and (supposedly, but not really) Mac for our current Unity-project.

We're all well aware of that sort of issue. The question we have, since even us users are well aware of it, is why developers keep choosing to use middleware that isn't cross platform when they've promised to release cross platform?

Exactly, this kind of thing makes professionals come off as amateurs. If you have been using the middle-ware for a while (years) and are somewhat locked in it is more understandable, but to have released previous games (in the same series!) on other platforms and then go in reverse is unjustifiable.

I am so tired of all this bait and switch from supposedly reputable developers. If you confirm a port, then it has to come out. You can't suddenly switch to "well, we're exploring it!". You've made a promise, and people may have preordered based on that promise.

At least I'm glad I didn't preorder this. I was thinking of doing it when they had the steam controller bundle out but now I am glad I didn't.

If this port doesn't come out I swear I will never buy a Firaxis or Aspyr product ever again. This is no joke.

And I wish more people had this attitude. Companies have to understand that they will lose our business if they yank us around.

Quoting: SkarjakI am so tired of all this bait and switch from supposedly reputable developers. If you confirm a port, then it has to come out. You can't suddenly switch to "well, we're exploring it!". You've made a promise, and people may have preordered based on that promise.

At least I'm glad I didn't preorder this. I was thinking of doing it when they had the steam controller bundle out but now I am glad I didn't.

If this port doesn't come out I swear I will never buy a Firaxis or Aspyr product ever again. This is no joke.

And I wish more people had this attitude. Companies have to understand that they will lose our business if they yank us around.

I agree with most of this, but if we stop buying games they will simply stop making them. We need to support games that actually get released. On the same note, they should catch a load of **** when this kind of thing happens. As said repeatedly on this site, never buy a game until it is actually released on Linux.

Of course you have the right to your point of view, but if we all shared it developers would simply loose all interest in trying to release for Linux. We are not a large enough market at this time to have such an outlook, at least not if we actually want to get more good games on our platform.