Adventure RPG 'EARTHLOCK' will gain a Linux beta build tomorrow

Hooh - that was veeeery classic jrpg style gameplay indeed. Fun to see this on PC too - I very much associate these kind of RPGs with Playstation and console gaming.


Last edited by Beamboom on 9 March 2018 at 10:07 am UTC

Lets hope they will actually do something this time. The demo they released on the Kickstarter just worked on Linux by pure luck. (They stated themselves that they just exported it from Unity without even testing it on Linux.) The "alpha" was just one version that had bugs and was never touched. Now there will be a beta. Just uploading some random game engine export is not the same as actually delivering a Linux version. Lets see how this turns out.

Until now, their behavior about the promised and sold Linux version and their way of communicating with their customers was quite shoddy. I hate that developers treat Linux customers like some kind of "minor urgency".

If you can't deliver a Linux version, don't sell one. And I would say, if you consider buying this right now, don't. Wait until they actually have a working version.

QuoteIt's likely the beta will be Steam-only and once ready hopefully it will come to GOG too.

Fingers crossed!

I remember this. (Glad they removed the "Festival of Magic" tagline, it made it sound like a children't cartoon about sharing.) I was interested in it despite its jrpg-ish style combat ('Ok, everyone. Let's all queue up for the battle! Red rover, red rover send a fireball on over.' *Fwoosh!*).

Given their history, I'll wait till the devs actually bring out a full release before dropping any dinero on this one.

They just continue to suck. Most people can't even download it, one says it starts without the intro and is full of debug messages... and the only message on the forum is:

Quotethanks for the feedback. This week has been crazy much work so the team is resting this weekend. We will continue on the Linux version on Monday.

I'm pretty much speechless. They managed to fuck up the situation even more, and still maintain their policy of just omitting any explanation.

Well, i can't download it. It seems like Steam isn't really switching to the beta branch, as restarting Steam puts me back in the stable branch, so it could be a Steam issue actually.

Quoting: Doc AngeloThey just continue to suck. Most people can't even download it, one says it starts without the intro and is full of debug messages... and the only message on the forum is:

Quotethanks for the feedback. This week has been crazy much work so the team is resting this weekend. We will continue on the Linux version on Monday.

I'm pretty much speechless. They managed to fuck up the situation even more, and still maintain their policy of just omitting any explanation.

Personally, I think you're being a bit of an arse. They're trying, it's more than thousands of other developers are doing and they replied to say they will be working on it.

It's a BETA, you realise this is when to expect issues right?

Quoting: liamdawePersonally, I think you're being a bit of an arse. They're trying, it's more than thousands of other developers are doing and they replied to say they will be working on it.

If that is better than "thousands of other devs", then it is still shitty to me. I never understood to refer to a bigger pile of shit and then state that the smaller pile of shit is quite nice. Not for me. It's still shit.

Can you honestly say that the Linux support from this company was "good" in any way? The demo was released without even taking time to install a Linux distribution and start it one single time. The "alpha" was - as far as we know - pretty much the same: It worked for some, not for others. And now we have the "beta", and it is still the same: Works for some, for some it crashes, and most people can't even download it - like me.

Can you recommend buying the game in this state? If yes, you can maybe come up with good evidence that this time, they will not forget what they said and just shut communication for over a year again.

Quoting: liamdaweIt's a BETA, you realise this is when to expect issues right?

I realize that the definition of "beta" can be quite stretched. If you make software, and your "beta" doesn't even start for half of your customers, I think you're doing something wrong big time.

There is a big loss of quality in game production lately. The Linux crowd gets the worst of that. I stay by my opinion that they are doing a shitty job all around regarding the already sold Linux version. And I stay by my opinion that it is not recommended to buy it right now - which people are sadly doing. Maybe they don't know the history of this one.

You think this is making me a "bit of an arse"? Maybe. But I don't think we should pamper any dev just because they mention the word "Linux" every 3 months.


Last edited by Doc Angelo on 10 March 2018 at 8:05 pm UTC

An alpha or a beta test means a game will have issues and you should expect them. To expect the same level of support for a finished version, is silly. If you pick up any game that isn't officially supported, you should know exactly what you're getting into.

If some people can download it and some can't, that's likely an issue in their Steam configuration, which confuses a great many developers and people get it wrong all the time, even big developers screw that up. It's no reason to give them crap.

As for it not starting, again, this is what a test version is for. I think you're being too harsh and you still clearly don't understand what a test version is for.

I get we've had some poor support in the past, but it's no reason to instantly claim shit about everything. Personally, I think your attitude just needs to cool down a bit and be a bit more understanding.

To quote the developer:

QuoteYes, please don’t buy the game before we are out of beta.

Last edited by Liam Dawe on 10 March 2018 at 8:15 pm UTC

Quoting: liamdaweTo expect the same level of support for a finished version, is silly.

instantly claim shit about everything.

As I said, everybody should have their opinion. You have yours, and that's fine. I have mine, and you should be able to deal with it without coming up with these straw man arguments. I never said that I expect 100% in an alpha or beta, and I most certainly did not "instantly claim shit about everything".

Read through the old alpha thread on Steam. I tried to ask them multiple times about how they are going forward with the Linux version. And I was polite about it and recognized that a human being can only do so much. They ignored the attempts to communicate. As soon as I realize that this politeness and patience is being abused, I get a bit of an arse. Rightfully so, in my opinion.

As I said, I don't accept that the Linux crowd is being handled like third class customers, just because their platform is not the most popular one. If a dev is doing this, the dev will get shit from me. If the dev will postpone the version multiple times without giving an explanation, the dev will get shit from me.

I don't really understand why you think their behavior is OK. I don't think it is, and I think I've given enough explanation to back up my view. Maybe you should backup your assessment.


Last edited by Doc Angelo on 10 March 2018 at 8:37 pm UTC