A nice way to end the week, Stardock have given some more updates on Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation for Linux and they said something rather interesting.
Firstly, Stardock gave an update at the end of December to mention how the game engine is now "compiling under Debian Linux and running via Vulkan" which was quite exciting to hear for those that missed it.
A few hours ago, they continued dishing out more information on Steam and it's sounding quite positive with this post:
I don't want to make any promises but...it's looking more and more like Linux will be arriving this year.
So here are some of the issues we have to deal with:
1. Performance. Vulkan on linux (driver wise) is...not very mature.
2. There are some differences in how memory management works that we're having to step through.
BTW, I want to send a shout out to AMD who helped us with the Vulkan Linux support.
But the good news is that it's compiling at least.
While that's interesting by itself, what they said next was even more interesting. When asked which AMD driver they were testing, they replied with:
No idea. I’ll try to find to find out. I’m a total Linux novice myself.
There is a lot of industry interest in Linux right now as a game platform. I am not at liberty to explain why but Vulkan is a real game changer.
I'm very curious what they mean by the "industry interest", especially since they're not giving out real details on that.
I'm personally excited. I'm a huge RTS fan and I've been itching to play Ashes for along time now. The fact that they're talking more about it and quite openly too is a very good sign.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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pentarctagon 6 Jan 2019
It would be interesting to know more details on the performance differences. Is it between Windows Vulkan vs Linux Vulkan, or Linux Vulkan vs DirectX? Either way sounds kind of weird though, given the success of DXVK.
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woohoo! <3 RTS
There is a lot of industry interest in Linux right now as a game platform. I am not at liberty to explain why but Vulkan is a real game changer.
what do they mean? are dev's really looking at linux or are they seeing vulkan as the main benefit (break from DX) and a path to linux is easier if they so wished?
Stardock showing an interest in linux is great but counter to what they have done... so what do they know
There is a lot of industry interest in Linux right now as a game platform. I am not at liberty to explain why but Vulkan is a real game changer.
what do they mean? are dev's really looking at linux or are they seeing vulkan as the main benefit (break from DX) and a path to linux is easier if they so wished?
Stardock showing an interest in linux is great but counter to what they have done... so what do they know
2 Likes, Who?
Well , Valve proved that is possible to benefit existing Windows games if you have right tools. So industry interest is normal in this case.
You want to make a gaming platform but also want old and beloved games on your shiny new platform? Well , with Linux that is possible. Kudos to Wine and DXVK mostly.
Edit:Typo
Last edited by Leopard on 6 Jan 2019 at 12:57 pm UTC
You want to make a gaming platform but also want old and beloved games on your shiny new platform? Well , with Linux that is possible. Kudos to Wine and DXVK mostly.
Edit:Typo
Last edited by Leopard on 6 Jan 2019 at 12:57 pm UTC
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This one surprised me a bit...
...but perhaps this explains it...
...no offence intended.
1. Performance. Vulkan on linux (driver wise) is...not very mature.
...but perhaps this explains it...
No idea. I’ll try to find to find out. I’m a total Linux novice myself.
...no offence intended.
3 Likes, Who?
Maybe all the sudden talking is just a way to get some cash from the linux crowd with the Humble Stardock Bundle happening right now.
0 Likes
This one surprised me a bit...I read it as "our engine compiled and is working but not on par with the Windows version". They still need to tweak it to work better on Linux and that might be because of the driver behaving differently (not exactly worse). I'm sad anyway every time an abstraction leaks, in this case the driver/Vulkan abstraction. If you thinkg about it, most of the bad things in our world happen due to some interface not being sufficiently abstract from the implementation.
1. Performance. Vulkan on linux (driver wise) is...not very mature.
...but perhaps this explains it...
No idea. I’ll try to find to find out. I’m a total Linux novice myself.
...no offence intended.
0 Likes
TheRiddick 6 Jan 2019
If games use vulkan then it kinda makes it real easy to port to Linux/Mac/Switch/PS4++ The only platform I know of atm that has a issue with vulkan is the xbox.... does it support vulkan? pretty sure they blacklisted it!
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I'm still looking forward to this a lot! Finally a game on Linux that is perfect for benchmarking. See Dan Baker's GDC presentations for more in depth info.
I hope their work together with the driver devs really manage to improve the driver optimizations as well. We need great games to really push the drivers and find the bottlenecks.
I was thinking about buying the Star Dock Humble Bundle since they're working on the Linux support, but I'll rather buy Escalation at full price when they actually deliver the product (even at a beta stage).
I hope their work together with the driver devs really manage to improve the driver optimizations as well. We need great games to really push the drivers and find the bottlenecks.
I was thinking about buying the Star Dock Humble Bundle since they're working on the Linux support, but I'll rather buy Escalation at full price when they actually deliver the product (even at a beta stage).
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Nevertheless 6 Jan 2019
There is a lot of industry interest in Linux right now as a game platform. I am not at liberty to explain why but Vulkan is a real game changer.
Firstly, thanks Valve for your initiative!
Wasn't it Intel that said lately Linux graphics drivers were a priority for their standalone graphics cards?
Also, whatever platform/console (Mad Box?) might be created in the future, will most probably use Vulkan. Whatever OS those platforms will use, and however open or closed down they might be, more use of Vulkan will help Linux gaming indirectly too, even if it only leads to more Vulkan Windows games.
Why there is a lot industry interest in Linux gaming is a mystery to me, but I would guess it's not our current 0,8% on Steam! ;-)
Last edited by Nevertheless on 6 Jan 2019 at 12:48 pm UTC
Firstly, thanks Valve for your initiative!
Wasn't it Intel that said lately Linux graphics drivers were a priority for their standalone graphics cards?
Also, whatever platform/console (Mad Box?) might be created in the future, will most probably use Vulkan. Whatever OS those platforms will use, and however open or closed down they might be, more use of Vulkan will help Linux gaming indirectly too, even if it only leads to more Vulkan Windows games.
Why there is a lot industry interest in Linux gaming is a mystery to me, but I would guess it's not our current 0,8% on Steam! ;-)
Last edited by Nevertheless on 6 Jan 2019 at 12:48 pm UTC
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Nevertheless 6 Jan 2019
If games use vulkan then it kinda makes it real easy to port to Linux/Mac/Switch/PS4++ The only platform I know of atm that has a issue with vulkan is the xbox.... does it support vulkan? pretty sure they blacklisted it!
Guess so! Is Vulkan availlable on PS4 by now?
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Talking about "poor driver performance" and not knowing which driver you tested it with - that's a bold stance.
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If games use vulkan then it kinda makes it real easy to port to Linux/Mac/Switch/PS4++ The only platform I know of atm that has a issue with vulkan is the xbox.... does it support vulkan? pretty sure they blacklisted it!
Guess so! Is Vulkan availlable on PS4 by now?
Xbox and PS4 doesn't support Vulkan.
1 Likes, Who?
Why there is a lot industry interest in Linux gaming is a mystery to me, but I would guess it's not our current 0,8% on Steam! ;-)
Streaming? Game consoles could one day be just thin clients with games being streamed from datacenters running Linux.
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Nevertheless 6 Jan 2019
Why there is a lot industry interest in Linux gaming is a mystery to me, but I would guess it's not our current 0,8% on Steam! ;-)
Streaming? Game consoles could one day be just thin clients with games being streamed from datacenters running Linux.
Maybe, but I guess it'll take some time until net infrastructure is ready for VR in 4k..
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Another dev made a similar comment about "something" happening in the gaming industry about Linux, but I can't find the source.
Maybe it's the beginning of more commitment from the gaming industry, that would be really great. My personal theory is that it has something to do with cloud gaming : running game rendering servers on Linux means better integration with Linux stack that are already there, and removes the need to pay for those pesky Microsoft licenses. But that's just a theory at this point.
Maybe it's the beginning of more commitment from the gaming industry, that would be really great. My personal theory is that it has something to do with cloud gaming : running game rendering servers on Linux means better integration with Linux stack that are already there, and removes the need to pay for those pesky Microsoft licenses. But that's just a theory at this point.
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I am not very interested in this game in particular (completely opposite style of RTS for me), but Stardock has plenty of strategy games I would love to see on Linux - GalCiv and Fallen Enchantress/Sorcerer King don't run well on Wine.
Also, good to know that the industry is excited about Linux right now. It isn't just us. :)
Also, good to know that the industry is excited about Linux right now. It isn't just us. :)
0 Likes
Nevertheless 6 Jan 2019
I am not very interested in this game in particular (completely opposite style of RTS for me), but Stardock has plenty of strategy games I would love to see on Linux - GalCiv and Fallen Enchantress/Sorcerer King don't run well on Wine.
Also, good to know that the industry is excited about Linux right now. It isn't just us. :)
Yes, but let's rejoice carefully! Google was also excited about Linux when they created Android...
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I am not very interested in this game in particular (completely opposite style of RTS for me), but Stardock has plenty of strategy games I would love to see on Linux - GalCiv and Fallen Enchantress/Sorcerer King don't run well on Wine.
Also, good to know that the industry is excited about Linux right now. It isn't just us. :)
Yes, but let's rejoice carefully! Google was also excited about Linux when they created Android...
I didn't want to dampen enthusiasm either, but if "the industry" was doing something, it wouldn't be super secret. Perhaps Stardock and some they internally talk with are, but that doesn't represent the (gaming, presumably) industry as a whole.
Don't get me wrong, Stardock doing this work is great, but just keep expectations in check. Ultimately, nothing was really said.
If some developers are excited, it is probably due to stuff we already know, or at least stuff we suspect. Vulkan is looking good, Valve is pushing Linux again, this kind of stuff. If there are any "secret plans" (NDA stuff), it probably isn't that big, at least not yet.
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I'm very curious what they mean by the "industry interest", especially since they're not giving out real details on that.
I suspect something like this: https://gpuopen.com/presentation-porting-engine-to-vulkan-dx12/
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I'm sad anyway every time an abstraction leaks, in this case the driver/Vulkan abstraction. If you thinkg about it, most of the bad things in our world happen due to some interface not being sufficiently abstract from the implementation.
Vulkan doesn't enforce memory allocation approach for example. And that can have a huge impact on performance. So I wouldn't say it's leaking driver abstraction.
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