Rings of Saturn from Kodera Software is something I've written about a couple of times and it seems like supporting Linux and Mac has been worth it for the developer.
It's currently doing a hybrid crowdfunding/Early Access model on itch.io, with it just recently breaking one thousand dollars. The developer recently shared this on Twitter, showing that close to half of the backers have been from Linux and Mac:
Note: Their original Twitter post mixed up the Mac/Windows labels, I've fixed that to be clear.
Speaking to the developer, they confirmed this is going by downloads on itch but it matches up well with players on Discord and Steam Wishlist numbers too. Really great to see!
Sounds like a really interesting game for space sci-fi fans too. Check out some of the features:
- Realistic top-down hard sci-fi space flight experience. Every aspect of gameplay is backed up by real science. Ships fly just as starships should.
- Jump into action in seconds with autopilot assist or save fuel by manual thruster maneuvers.
- Detailed ship simulation down to every subsystem - upgrade your ship, fix or even jury-rig broken systems on the fly. Every system failure will impact gameplay - adapt to survive in the hostile environment of space.
- Discover the mystery of the Rings, or just try to get rich leading your excavation company.
- Plan your strategy back on Enceladus Prime station. Sell your output, upgrade your ship, hire the crew and manage your company.
If you missed the recent article on it, they also shared a new trailer:
Direct Link
You can head on over to itch.io to support the developer or wait for the wider Steam Early Access release, which should be on August 12th. Both stores do have a demo up for you to try right now, which is always up to date with the full game.
Rings of Saturn is made with the FOSS game engine Godot Engine.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Is the pie chart legend wrong?; should Mac be yellow and Windows red?That was fixed with a note added.
so some developers out there said that linux is not a viable platform,ummm looking at this pie chart proves that you can make money on this platform.it's just an excuse to not support it.support all 3 guess what everyone is happy.i know it costs money but you got to get your feet wet with this.good to see this and i hope we see more of this.I applaud your spirit, but we should acknowledge that this is an outlier, and a fairly distant one at that. We're clearly looking at a game that has gotten significantly more publicity in Linux than Windows circles. I hate to say it, but Linux is typically more in the 1% range.
I'm actually surprised and even a bit puzzled at how badly Linux and Linux gaming have done in the years since Steam and the Steam Machine. I was expecting a sort of gradual expansion but we seem to have stagnated--and at that, stagnated more specifically on the gaming front where Linux has improved by leaps and bounds as a platform but our percentage has stayed flat at best, than on the desktop as a whole, where there does seem to be a very slow ongoing increase in Linux numbers despite the Linux desktop itself being in a more incremental improvement stage. I don't really get it.
So this is a lovely exception and it's nice that a small game with the right coverage can get a big boost from Linux (and Mac), but it is nonetheless an exception. We would need a lot of plurals of this anecdote before it becomes data.
Before we cheer too much, what're their total numbers like? If Linux is doing very well I think their numbers may be kinda low. Not to be too much of a downer, it means indies do have an incentive to support Linux if they can do so without having to mess too much with porting.I think you've missed the point. Firstly, I included the approx revenue in the article, just over $1K on itch.
Second, the actual point is just to highlight that the developer themselves thought it was worth it, which we should cheer, regardless.
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