There's been a lot of chatter in the Linux gaming community recently, centred around Paradox Interactive and future Linux support. It's not all doom and gloom.
Starting off in a post on our forum, which linked to a chat with Shams Jorjani, the Chief Business Development Officer at Paradox Interactive, where Jorjani stated:
As I've said before - Linux sales have decreased annually the past 5 years. Both in relative and absolute numbers. It makes [zero] business sense to support it unfortunately. :(
That didn't make things sound good, which Jorjani followed up with:
We appreciate your support. For what it's worth we always examine rhe possibility and make a call. Hope you decide to return one day.
Now a post has popped up on the Paradox forum with a bunch of users throwing their support behind Paradox, which is always nice to see! Jorjani also replied here, with a little more detail to make things as clear as possible. Here's what they said:
Just wanted to pop in and say that I/we hear you, really appreciate the passion and that you make your voice heard in such a constructive way.
We evaluate Linux on a case by case basis and try to squeeze it in as often as we can. Some devs have experience with Linux and it becomes easier/cheaper to include. For others it's like when Han Solo handles Luke's lightsaber - there's a lot of "ah...uh"-ing and becomes a huge distraction and expensive.
So no promises either way - we'll do our best.
It's good to know that Paradox aren't outright dropping Linux support, it sounds like the same situation as any publisher/developer. Ports to any platform, are done when they think it's worth it and when the developer is ready and willing to do it.
In the case of studios under Paradox Interactive: Paradox Development Studios (Stellaris, Crusader Kings and so on), their strategy games already have Linux support in the game engine, for Haemimont Games with Surviving Mars they already had a bunch of Linux experience with Victor Vran on Linux, the same with Harebrained Schemes and BATTLETECH since they also worked on various Shadowrun titles that have Linux support.
How can you help with this? Continue buying Paradox games of course. A ton of their games are on sale currently on Steam and GOG, might be a really good time to pick some up or some missing DLC.
Personally, you can pry Stellaris, Battletech and Surviving Mars from my cold dead hands. All three are excellent Linux games that I go back to very regularly.
Hat tip to SadL.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: HoriExcapt that Imperator had technical issues that prevented many people from playing (I think that's the source of all the hate).No, the source of the hate is that they released an empty shell to be filled with DLC later on. They could have waited a year more with the release. I really think, and hope, that their DLC policy is getting to them. People really begin to notice.
Imperator is like a EUIV/CK2 hybrid, but with nowhere near the content of either of them (with all their DLCs). So it will be compared to both games, and not win that comparison in any scenario.
You don't get a 35% (or whatever it is now) rating for being a good game. It doesn't just have "flaws". As I said, part of it is due to the EUIV/CK2 comparisons, part of it due to general fatigue with DLC milking policy, but even if you take that out, what you have is a deeply incomplete game.
Stellaris, too, was really messed up on release, but at least it was its very own thing, not comparable to other Paradox games.
I'm not telling you not to like the game. I sure like a few objectively trashy games, but I do acknowledge their quality and know that most won't like them.
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 1 July 2019 at 9:31 am UTC
Quoting: slaapliedjeAlso the shenanigans of Ubuntu trying to drop support for 32bit compatibility doesn't help. How many Ubuntu users are just going to go back to Windows rather than distro hop?
Imho: no one. Though I agree that this was handled poorly and it became bad PR that might confuse and keep away non techie people that were undecided if leaving windows or not.
heidi.wenger Jul 1, 2019
Quoting: tuubiQuoting: Guestpolitical agendas that go counter to most of their customers' wishesMost of their customers or the loudest of their customers?
Also, you really can't enjoy a game/story unless it perfectly conforms to your narrow world-view? That's a bit sad.
According to what the poster can be judged as having a "narrow world-view"? C'mon.
Quoting: heidi.wengerIf someone gets offended by game design, they're not likely to be the most open-minded person around. Anyway, he didn't seem to mind my turn of phrase. He probably doesn't need you to mind for him.Quoting: tuubiQuoting: Guestpolitical agendas that go counter to most of their customers' wishesMost of their customers or the loudest of their customers?
Also, you really can't enjoy a game/story unless it perfectly conforms to your narrow world-view? That's a bit sad.
According to what the poster can be judged as having a "narrow world-view"? C'mon.
Quoting: GuestI never said that, I just said they don't get continued/active support.
Soory, missunderstanding on my side.
Quoting: EikeThis sums up what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=BnEhruDrBfA (skip to 3:04 if you're impatient)
Stopped listening after "motherfucker", so after about three seconds.
Last edited by Eike on 1 July 2019 at 1:45 pm UTC
If HBS releases another Shadowrun I'm gonna insta-buy, though.
officernice Jul 1, 2019
I'm really hoping Romero's mafia game makes its way to Linux... :(
slaapliedje Jul 1, 2019
Quoting: EikeHa, that video was entertaining.Quoting: GuestI never said that, I just said they don't get continued/active support.
Soory, missunderstanding on my side.
Quoting: EikeThis sums up what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=BnEhruDrBfA (skip to 3:04 if you're impatient)
Stopped listening after "motherfucker", so after about three seconds.
I'll sum it up for you. Paradox buys White Wolf, VtM gets updated because there was a neo-nazi group in it, and instead now it has a Islamic gay Gangrel guy nicknamed the 'Bear Gangrel'. Oh, and he is a vampire that cares about minorities within the vampire community.
Considering there is the whole underlying 'racial' issue between the different clans in the Vampire game, that seems kind of pointless and over the top. The game is already dealing with issues of race/clan.
So with Paradox publishing the game there is the fear of such nonsensical characters being put into this for the sole purpose of making a small minority of people who want to be represented in video games to be happy, rather than catering to the actual giant fans of the game.
NOTE: that is pretty much what he says, and I do kind of agree with it. The White Wolf games are the World of Darkness, they're supposed to be somewhat bleak, and you basically have to fight to keep your humanity or the Beast takes over. That's been the whole thing of it. It's not like allowing you to play a non-binary gender in Battletech, at least not yet. We'll see.
Quoting: tuubiMost of their customers or the loudest of their customers?Funny, I've noticed people who say they have no problem with a product's "agenda" say it because it conforms to their worldview, and usually the second they see a game, movie etc. that doesn't, they are the loudest "unsatisfied customers" although I doubt they even purchased the product.
Also, you really can't enjoy a game/story unless it perfectly conforms to your narrow world-view? That's a bit sad.
Last edited by BOYSSSSS on 1 July 2019 at 4:14 pm UTC
Quoting: PatolaLolwut. Paradox publishes mostly strategy games (Stellaris, Heart of Irons, Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Steel Division, Warlock 2, Age of Wonders III, Cities in Motion, Sword of the Stars, Sengoku, etc.), with RPGs in second place. And the Shadowrun series is comprised of RPGs, not strategy games. Aren't you switching genres in what you said? As in, how's it possible that you have all of the ones that came for Linux and don't play strategy games for the most part (considering you play your games, of course)?Shadowrun is mostly strategy IMHO. Yes, it comes from a Pen & Paper RPG I even used to play, but the computer games are rather strategy-heavy.
All else, see for yourself:
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