What a surprise — not. RUINER [Steam, Official Site] for Linux is now officially on hold the developers have said and it's not looking good.
First of all, here's a little time-line of events surrounding RUINER and a Linux version:
- 1st April 2016 - Game announced, with Linux clearly stated as a platform for the game.
- 24th August 2017 - Linux version delayed due to "technical issues".
- 14th September 2017 - Their Twitter team claimed they do not plan a Linux version anytime soon.
- 15th September 2017 - They ask for posts containing "+1's" in support of a Linux version. (Note: Around 25 pages of support on Steam was gathered for it!)
- 6th October 2017 - Officially on hold with this message posted on Steam today:
Hi guys,
Linux port is currently on hold. We have so much work around the current versions that we have to prioritize our efforts. We will think about it after the hottest period is over ;)
Take care,
RUINERS
This is yet another case of a developer announcing release platforms, without taking into account how much work it would actually be. I don't want to be too harsh here, since I will be happy to play and review it if it does ever come to Linux, but it's hard not to be incredibly frustrated with Reikon Games at this mess.
If you're going to do a Linux version of your game, you should plan for it. Never leave it as an afterthought, test it regularly and don't assume it's going to be a one-click process to push out a Linux version.
What are your thoughts?
UPDATE: And the games continue!
QuoteHi Linux players,
Your version wasn't cancelled. It is a small misunderstanding. RUINER is most definitely coming to Linux. At the moment we just have so much work, that we had to redirect our resources to fixing all the bugs in the current versions, but as soon as it is done, our efforts will go back to Linux.
Best wishes,
RUINERS
They also rather quickly hit us up on Twitter with these messages:
Our new marketing guy was so keen to answer you from our shared account that he didn't double check the facts with our core development team
— RUINER (@ruinergame) October 6, 2017
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.Linux version is on, and we will release it soon! Sorry about the confusion.
— RUINER (@ruinergame) October 6, 2017
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
[email protected] Oct 7, 2017
Is SPAZ 2 good? What about SPAZ 1?
0 Likes
Avehicle7887 Oct 7, 2017
I learned to not hold my breath when the words 'Unreal Engine 4' and 'Linux' are in the same line. As we have often seen, almost none of the UE4 built games made it to Linux, Everspace is the one truly standing out (thanks to its' stubborn and admirable developers).
Hopefully these guys can pull it off, might not be easy considering UE4 is still not so Linux friendly, can only hope things improve as time goes by.
Hopefully these guys can pull it off, might not be easy considering UE4 is still not so Linux friendly, can only hope things improve as time goes by.
3 Likes, Who?
slaapliedje Oct 7, 2017
There is a lot of bitter in the comments here. We all know shit can happen. Sounds to me like they released a buggy game, had to hold off on testing the Linux version to patch up their buggy release.
I'd kind of rather have a more bug fixed game than one that is just as crap on Linux as it is on Windows. Then again, I won't buy this until reviews say it's good enough to do so. I have enough games on various platforms that if I could stop working right now and all I did was wake up to play video games for the next 40 years, I still would have things I wouldn't even load...
I'd kind of rather have a more bug fixed game than one that is just as crap on Linux as it is on Windows. Then again, I won't buy this until reviews say it's good enough to do so. I have enough games on various platforms that if I could stop working right now and all I did was wake up to play video games for the next 40 years, I still would have things I wouldn't even load...
0 Likes
Well, I hope they learn not to announce stuff they don't know jackshit about in the future.
0 Likes
For my own sanity, I'm just going to pretend this game doesn't exist. Then when it comes out for Linux (if it comes out for Linux), it will be a nice pleasant surprise.
Next time I see an article on here about this game, unless it explicitly reads "RUINER is now out for Linux" I'm not even clicking the link.
Next time I see an article on here about this game, unless it explicitly reads "RUINER is now out for Linux" I'm not even clicking the link.
5 Likes, Who?
Sir_Diealot Oct 7, 2017
I do understand that you wish you could play this game right away, but you seem to be overly frustrated by what is likely just a delay. You didn't pre-order or anything, did you? So what did you lose? You can't play the game right at launch, but you will likely be able to play a less buggy version of it a bit later. What's the big deal?
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Sir_DiealotI do understand that you wish you could play this game right away, but you seem to be overly frustrated by what is likely just a delay. You didn't pre-order or anything, did you? So what did you lose? You can't play the game right at launch, but you will likely be able to play a less buggy version of it a bit later. What's the big deal?
The "frustration" isn't about the game, it's about the abortive PR behind the game. To summarise:
- The game was announced in April.
- Then delayed in September.
- One day later, the devs requested the Linux community to speak up in order to gauge interest(!).
- The following week, they announced Linux was back on.
- Two weeks later, they announced technical difficulties might make take it off the table (again).
- Three days later, it's "officially" put on hold.
- According to the update, yay.. it's back on! Apparently. If you still believe a single word coming out of this studio.
But hey, I didn't (and never) pre-order and I don't buy on vague (or even convincing) promises. The game looks great and the minute it gets a SteamOS logo on their page, I'll almost certainly be buying it. Until then, the white noise of PR is deafening.
2 Likes, Who?
They probably didn't realise that their game would have more bugs than they originally anticipated. So resources that would have been assigned to the Linux build have been redirected to bug-fixing. At least that's how I'm reading into their comments.
I can understand the cynicism coming from some of the comments, particularly if you've been previously bitten.
At the moment I'll consider this a wait and see.
I can understand the cynicism coming from some of the comments, particularly if you've been previously bitten.
At the moment I'll consider this a wait and see.
0 Likes
Quoting: Sir_DiealotI do understand that you wish you could play this game right away, but you seem to be overly frustrated by what is likely just a delay. You didn't pre-order or anything, did you? So what did you lose? You can't play the game right at launch, but you will likely be able to play a less buggy version of it a bit later. What's the big deal?
I can't speak for Liam, but my frustration level is borne of all the times I've seen Linux games promised "later" or "after getting the bugs worked out of Windows/other OSs" but never released. Of course there are cases where Linux games come out as promised, but their number seems depressingly small.
When devs are forthright from their first announcement as to what, specifically, their problem is, seeking to work with the community to fix issues for Linux, I feel the game is going to come out. But when devs hem and haw about a date, making vague and contradictory announcements about dates and progress, I write the game off as a long-shot at best.
2 Likes, Who?
Poorly handled, very poorly.
Still, I feel at least a tiny bit of optimism remains, for the following reasons:
1. It sounds as if there actually is a linux work-in-progress going on, that´s far better than a lot of developers that promise "linux a bit later" and then the port in question is never heard from again.
2. They are at the very least communicating with the linux community. I´m starting to feel that the standard procedure among developers is more like: "make promise->change mind about promise->stop communicating".
Of course, the fact that they used the phrasing "we´ll think about it later", does sound a bit ominous.
Still, I feel at least a tiny bit of optimism remains, for the following reasons:
1. It sounds as if there actually is a linux work-in-progress going on, that´s far better than a lot of developers that promise "linux a bit later" and then the port in question is never heard from again.
2. They are at the very least communicating with the linux community. I´m starting to feel that the standard procedure among developers is more like: "make promise->change mind about promise->stop communicating".
Of course, the fact that they used the phrasing "we´ll think about it later", does sound a bit ominous.
2 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me