Recently, GOG added the Windows version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown to their store and since it has a Linux version on Steam, I reached out to the porter to see about their plans for the Linux version.
We've seen a lot of speculation in the past, with people wondering if Feral Interactive will ever get their Linux ports onto a store other than Steam. Here's their official stance, which they sent me this morning:
We don't have any plans to distribute our games through GoG. If this changes, we'll make announcements through our usual channels.
We can speculate all we like as to why they're not doing it, even if the decision does strike me as a little odd. Hopefully they will reevaluate this stance in future, considering it's not exactly a new game and the Linux port from 2014 isn't exactly new either.
A shame for everyone who prefers their games on GOG.
Quoting: MaturionBut GOG's Linux support is just bad, Galaxy isn't available on Linux four years after it was launched.
I see this a lot, and believe me, I want Galaxy on Linux as much as anyone*, but is this the only metric we can use to measure Linux support? Humble doesn't have any client for anyone, but they support Linux. I'd much rather use GOG's mojo setups for Linux vs. the "whatever the dev wants" situation at Humble.
A quick perusal of gogdb.org shows that GOG sells 2218 games, of which 598 are available on Linux. That's 27% of their games on Linux. In 2018, GOG has released 156 games so far, of which 59 are available on Linux - that's 38% of this years releases on Linux.** Seems like pretty good Linux support to me.
* - I'm not sure I'll ever actually use Galaxy, although incremental updates could get me there, but I want Galaxy on Linux just so companies can stop using the lack of Galaxy to not release Linux versions on GOG.
** - With GOG's bundling, and multiple packages of games, I'm not positive these numbers are super accurate. They should be pretty good though. The database dump from GOGDB lets you filter out packs and dlc.
Quoting: scaineThrow in the awesome and regular sales, plus the ad-hoc sales, Steam is my first choice, every time. Until GOG release Origin on Linux, my decisions aren't based on DRM, they're based on features GOG don't have and apparently have very little interest in prioritising.I guess you're referring to Galaxy? But yeah, the lack of Galaxy on Linux is also the main reason why I stick to Steam. What I was trying to say is, if GOG offered my the same convenience on Linux than Steam does, I'd definitely chose GOG.
Quoting: hummer010I see this a lot, and believe me, I want Galaxy on Linux as much as anyone*, but is this the only metric we can use to measure Linux support? Humble doesn't have any client for anyone, but they support Linux. I'd much rather use GOG's mojo setups for Linux vs. the "whatever the dev wants" situation at Humble.
A quick perusal of gogdb.org shows that GOG sells 2218 games, of which 598 are available on Linux. That's 27% of their games on Linux. In 2018, GOG has released 156 games so far, of which 59 are available on Linux - that's 38% of this years releases on Linux.** Seems like pretty good Linux support to me.
Well, they allow Linux games to be distributed via their service. But overall, they don't do much for Linux users. As said, the lack of their Galaxy client for Linux is a huge downside for GOG. It's most likely the reason why Feral and others are avoiding GOG. And for me it's the reason why I buy games on Steam, even though a DRM-free Linux version might be available on GOG. I don't want to manually install and update my games.
Quoting: hummer010* - I'm not sure I'll ever actually use Galaxy, although incremental updates could get me there, but I want Galaxy on Linux just so companies can stop using the lack of Galaxy to not release Linux versions on GOG.
I'll only use open source client for Galaxy if ever, which most likely will be community made, since GOG didn't express any interest to open theirs.
Quoting: GuestEdit - conspiracy theory: Feral is paid by Valve to bring more games to SteamOS/Linux or Valve allow Feral releasing their ports on Linux for free (no -30% for Valve as long as the purchase is counted as Linux). That would make sense because Feral once said that "GOG is not viable".
Actually, I always thought that Feral is subsidized by Valve..
That would explain all this steam exclusivity...
At the end of the day, is a business.
Quoting: namikoStop. This is not acceptable here.Quoting: RybladeMaybe it's because JudasIscariot can be painfully arrogant and belligerant when told he's not doing things correctly.I really hated that guy. He felt like the PR guy who drew the shortest straw and was told "just keep 'em happy, and don't directly promise anything we can't deliver on".
For the record, they're one of the nicest people I've spoken to. They can only do so much, they don't make the decisions. Don't pin your frustrations on single staff members.
Quoting: liamdaweFor the record, they're one of the nicest people I've spoken to. They can only do so much, they don't make the decisions. Don't pin your frustrations on single staff members.
Feeling like I was being humored by JudasIscariot instead of being listened to left a bad taste in my mouth (it was the pre-MojoSetup days when they were asking the community about game packaging on the GOG forums).
It also took a lot of problems with GOG building up before I thought it was a good idea to leave, but Judas' behaviour was just one part of that decision. This isn't mindless dirt-flinging on a target of opportunity, there were reasons for me to talk about them specifically.
Even if it was rude, I still believe we Linux gamers should call out those who haven't been good to us so that we don't lose money, time or mental health on (what *some* consider to be) a bad deal. I can agree to disagree on this with you. There isn't anything else to say, rude or otherwise, about my experiences with GOG or JudasIscariot anyways.
Please also understand that technically, you're JI's business partner, they are obliged to treat you with respect. Your experience with them may not reflect the general Linux gaming community's experience with them.
Keep personal attacks away from our comments.
Quoting: liamdawePerhaps I wasn't clear enough: I've never seen them act in a way that wasn't polite and I do frequent the GOG forums, I might not post, but I read it often.
I can second that. I use GOG forums for a long time already, and never saw rude behavior of their staff. And if they can't answer some questions, they won't.
Last edited by Shmerl on 15 July 2018 at 3:14 am UTC
I was being honest when I said I didn't want to speak about GOG or anyone working with them anymore. Why are you doing this when I said I'd stop breaking rules in the post above?
I'm more upset that you thought it was necessary to bring out the big guns instead of trying to talk things over reasonably. I'd still like to try talking reasonably if you're also willing.
Quoting: namikoI'm more upset that you thought it was necessary to bring out the big guns instead of trying to talk things over reasonably. I'd still like to try talking reasonably if you're also willing.
I'm a wee bit confused by "bring out the big guns". Do you mean Liam restating the "no personal attacks" just there? I don't think Liam has ever stated that you can't bring your opinion to the table. Hopefully this is a misunderstanding of Liam's intent - not to berate you specifically on your last comment, but to be clearer about why he was unhappy with the original comments. The ones you've already said are now behind you, which is great.
Unlike most places on the internet, I've personally found GOL to be an incredibly reasonable place. And it's that way because of Liam's moderation, in my opinion, unlike so many places that are toxic because of the moderation (looking at you, /r/linux... and most Steam forum pages).
Not to say I haven't fallen out with Liam myself of course, but that was a couple of years ago now and I still think GOL deserves the patronage I give it.
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