The developers of game launcher 'Launchbox' on porting it to Linux, due to Windows 10 privacy issues
Launchbox [Official Site], an application that aims to be a one-stop shop for launching all your games may see proper Linux support if there's enough interest, with some of the work already done.
They even did a livestream to talk about porting it. In it, the developer working on the Linux version specifically mentioned the privacy issues in Windows 10 (even though they like it) as a reason for doing this. Even with the developer stating they love Windows 10, they also made their thoughts on Linux quite clear—"It is amazing what the community has come up with here, in all these various software packages that comprise Linux, it's incredible, it's no question for a free and open source set of software Linux is absolutely incredible and amazing.". I'll be honest, that warmed my heart right up.
They specifically said they've had requests for a Linux version over the past few years, but what makes me really like them is the fact that they understand the amount of requests they've had, is different to how many people might want it in the wider community.
Check the video out:
Direct Link
To be clear, they're currently only talking about Launchbox, not "Big Box" which is like their full-screen Steam Big Picture-like interface. However, if it works out well they will also looking into porting Big Box as well. It would require a completely rewrite of Big Box though, so it's not something that would happen anytime soon.
I will say, to be clear, we do have open source game launchers already on Linux like Lutris, RetroArch and various others. However, a key part in getting more people to use Linux for work and play, is getting the applications they already love and use from Windows onto Linux. It's an important step, which I'm sure many will understand even if there's software that might be slightly similar already.
You can fill out their survey here, if you're interested in seeing this on Linux properly.
Thanks for the Twitter tip nullzero!
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: herycpQuoting: strycoreThank you for all the nice comments about Lutris, really appreciate it! :D
@NotSoQT we plan having that in one of the future releases, it's one of the features I really want to have.
i want big mode so i can lauch my game with gamepad
I want it too! Please come join our dev team! We're going with Gsk ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2B_Scene_Graph_Kit ) for the Big Picture Mode and it's not planned until 0.6 or 0.7 so there's plenty of time to get it done.
Last edited by strycore on 28 January 2018 at 7:05 am UTC
Quoting: nullzeroQuoting: dvdAre these things like steam big picture mode, a way to launch games comfortably using a TV and a controller? Or more like PoL or retroarch, a way to easily manage and configure emulators?
The basic app, the Lauchbox is more of laucher/game catologue like retroarch with strong emphasis on emulation, but with PC games included too. That's the one they're thinking of porting to linux. This is the free version.
Then they have BigBox which is "the big picture mode solution". But that one is heavyly dependent on windows and would need a complete rewrite for it to happen in Tux land (there is talk of kickstarter for it though but not just now). This BigBox comes only with the premium version which is their main source of income.
Edit: formatting and added that Bigbox is their main source of income.
Thanks, sounds like something that could be of use for people that like to play from the couch.
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