Update: The developer did change their mind and it's now on GOG for Linux. Update #2: The developer later pulled both GOG and Linux down.
Original article:
Supraland released for Linux on Steam on July 2nd and it just released on GOG today but it seems the Linux version will not be heading to GOG.
What is Supraland? It's a very highly rated first-person action and puzzle game, inspired by the likes of Zelda, Metroid and Portal. It's popular, with an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam from over two thousands user reviews and from my time spent in the demo, I can see why as it was pretty sweet.
Speaking in their official Discord server, users questioned the developer to find out about a possible Linux release on GOG, since it's only available for Windows there currently. The reply was a little…unexpected:
Their further comments on it were a little more reasonable and understandable, mostly mentioning lower sales on Linux and again on GOG. Even so, that's a pretty naive and hostile attitude to take towards a store (GOG) and platform (Linux) both of which you only just started supporting.
After speaking to the developer myself, they said it was taken out of context (not that I see how, I followed the whole conversation personally). In reply to the same user who also posted this information on GOG, the developer said:
With the "for the sake of it" comment I was refering to a case of "I will only buy on gog because I want it DRM-free" but it IS DRM-free on Steam since forever. This ignorance and "for the sake of it" attitude made me a little angry.
I have not a single bad thought about gog.
They moved onto saying the Linux version performs poorly compared to the Windows version, saying it's better in Proton (which they also said slightly differently on the GOG forum and here too) so they don't want to give "a version that is inferior for reasons I cannot change". So, they're basically telling people on GOG to use Wine/Proton.
So for now, if you want to play the Linux version of Supraland, it's sadly Steam only. Although, going by their other comments it seems they're not confident on actually keeping the Linux version up.
Supra Games are also currently crowdfunding for Supraland 2 on Kickstarter, which is confirmed to be coming to Linux as well.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: chancho_zombiethe reasonable approach here would be to just ignore his comments and buy the game to shut his mouth up. Flame wars do too much damage to our ecosystem.It's not a flame war to point out such things.
Avehicle7887 Jul 9, 2019
Last edited by Avehicle7887 on 9 July 2019 at 10:53 pm UTC
Quoting: Avehicle7887If I understand his comments correctly, it seems he's not even sure if the Linux version will stay on Steam either due to the port's performance, furthermore it seems the Windows version performs better with Wine/Proton/DXVK than the native one does.You understood it correctly, I've seen what they said on GOG now too:
QuoteBecause of the Linux version running poorly, for reasons I don't yet understand, I am not comfortable spreading that around. I'm rather in doubt if I should keep it up on Steam.It does make me wonder how much time was spent on the Linux version to begin with.
And I know the linux userbase is graving for games, and I saw how the entire linux-gamer-universe was talking about Supraland when it released there last week, but the sale numbers were pretty much none existent. Just putting the version out to make a quick buck would a) not work because of the numbers and would b) be wrong if I am not convinced it can deliver what it should
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 9 July 2019 at 10:58 pm UTC
Quoting: liamdaweIt does make me wonder how much time was spent on the Linux version to begin with.
He said that he just created the build for Linux, so a Linux build on gog would definitely need some extra work as he must create the installer. Also, it's not necessary to install a full steam client, with steamcmd you can get the game to your disk and run it without problems.
For me it's the native working great after I activated vsync, not to mention that the game is really good. Hope he still ships the Linux version as I will always prefer the native.
Quoting: liamdaweIt's not a flame war to point out such things.
Sorry for the repost, but tou're taking these way too personal Liam.
GustyGhost Jul 9, 2019
QuoteBecause of the Linux version running poorly, for reasons I don't yet understand
I hope he one day finds peace with the free and platform-agnostic development process. This sounds to me like a symptom of cultivated developer lock-in succeeded as planned.
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