With Streets of Rogue having left Early Access recently, I'm sure plenty were wondering how it's done on Linux. Turns out the developer, Matt Dabrowski, actually made some interesting comments about it.
Curiously, the comment from Dabrowski turned up at a place I didn't quite expect. A dubious website offering free download links to various games, where it seems Dabrowski turned up to warn people away from it and instead try the older version on itch.io to get a feel for it.
I won't link directly to the website in question, since I firmly believe you should support developers. However, you can see all their comments on their Disqus profile. Here's what they said:
Heya, porting to Linux basically involved telling Unity "make Linux build". Simple as it gets. There have been some Linux specific bugs that needed fixing, but nothing super major. Also more tech support involved, Linux users tend to have a lot more uncommon hardware/software configurations than Windows users do, which can sometimes have their own sets of issues with the game. I'm not sure what I would have done if I wasn't using Unity since I don't know how other engines handle things, but honestly I probably wouldn't have made a major effort toward it due to low sales (currently less than 0.5% of sales actually), unfortunately it just wouldn't have been cost effective. So yeah, convenience was definitely a big factor. Though I did always want Linux users to get to play the game if I had the opportunity to do so, and fortunately it worked out.
I like the honesty there. We really only got Linux support with Streets of Rogue because Unity made it easy enough to do so. This is important, since the lower the barrier the more likely a developer is to put up a Linux version. Thankfully Unity makes it simple most of the time if developers regularly test and ensure any plugins they go for support Linux too.
It's no secret I love this game, having livestreamed it on our Twitch Channel as well as writing about various updates to it since 2016, it's a game that's stuck with over a long period that not many others are able to (apart from Rocket League…).
You can grab Streets of Rogue on Humble Store and Steam. I highly recommend it, an absolutely fantastic time, a true riot to play with friends and just as hilarious by yourself. A game and developer worth your support for sure.
Hat tip to gutigone.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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17 comments
Though I did always want Linux users to get to play the game if I had the opportunity to do so, and fortunately it worked out.
That's what we've discussed lately. Artists want to enable as many people as possible to play their games.
1 Likes, Who?
Indeed, I don't think anyone in their right mind actively wants to remove options from people, it's just business.Though I did always want Linux users to get to play the game if I had the opportunity to do so, and fortunately it worked out.
That's what we've discussed lately. Artists want to enable as many people as possible to play their games.
0 Likes
gradyvuckovic Jul 15, 2019
Looking at the long term, like say, 5+ years, I think it would be worth our effort to heavily support Godot and any open source middleware as a means of encouraging more Linux games.
An open source game engine like Godot gives 1st class equal support to Linux as it does Windows, which makes targeting Linux dead easy. Plus, because it's open source, any Linux related bugs can be easily fixed up, and performance can be thoroughly optimised to match or exceed Windows, so the degree of Linux support isn't decided by financial motivations of a corporation. When we're at the whims of proprietary game engines and middleware, if they don't support Linux, or they have Linux related bugs or performance issues that are deemed low priority, then there's nothing much we can do to correct that situation. When the game engine is open source, the open source community can 'steer the ship' to an extent.
Another reason to support Godot and open source middleware, is because long term, it could become the most attractive solution for game development. With no licensing fees and it's MIT license, Godot could be adopted by everything from indie game devs to AAA studios eventually, if the industry gives it support. If that happens, you have game development largely occurring within a software package that can export to Linux with a click. And leans game development towards open technology (Vulkan, open file formats, etc), instead of closed technology. That's a huge win.
It will take years for Godot to get there of course, first Godot needs to hit it's 4.0 milestone and get it's Vulkan based renderer, which will add a lot of necessary functionality to Godot to make it suitable for larger scale games. That can be expected to occur around sometime early next year perhaps. But beyond that, there's no reason why it can't catch on. It would be far cheaper for the industry to adopt Godot too, than to rely on proprietary game engines and licensing.
Last edited by gradyvuckovic on 15 July 2019 at 2:20 pm UTC
An open source game engine like Godot gives 1st class equal support to Linux as it does Windows, which makes targeting Linux dead easy. Plus, because it's open source, any Linux related bugs can be easily fixed up, and performance can be thoroughly optimised to match or exceed Windows, so the degree of Linux support isn't decided by financial motivations of a corporation. When we're at the whims of proprietary game engines and middleware, if they don't support Linux, or they have Linux related bugs or performance issues that are deemed low priority, then there's nothing much we can do to correct that situation. When the game engine is open source, the open source community can 'steer the ship' to an extent.
Another reason to support Godot and open source middleware, is because long term, it could become the most attractive solution for game development. With no licensing fees and it's MIT license, Godot could be adopted by everything from indie game devs to AAA studios eventually, if the industry gives it support. If that happens, you have game development largely occurring within a software package that can export to Linux with a click. And leans game development towards open technology (Vulkan, open file formats, etc), instead of closed technology. That's a huge win.
It will take years for Godot to get there of course, first Godot needs to hit it's 4.0 milestone and get it's Vulkan based renderer, which will add a lot of necessary functionality to Godot to make it suitable for larger scale games. That can be expected to occur around sometime early next year perhaps. But beyond that, there's no reason why it can't catch on. It would be far cheaper for the industry to adopt Godot too, than to rely on proprietary game engines and licensing.
Last edited by gradyvuckovic on 15 July 2019 at 2:20 pm UTC
16 Likes, Who?
First "Supraland", now this. The story is basically the same: a developer lamenting about low GNU/Linux sales and me being completely uninterested in the games in question (would not even know about them if not for the news on this site).
Maybe the problem is in myself, but I am kinda stocked full on low-profile indie games (even more-so with regards to "retro"-styled pixellated ones) and want something modern-looking.
Still, a bitter taste in my mouth: I am almost feeling guilty the GNU/Linux sales are low, while my money gets wasted on some Windows-loving scammers like ArtPlay/505Games (of "Bloodscammed" fame) or Ice-Pick Lodge.
Not my year, probably. If things go the same way I will end up buying "X4: Foundations" at full price. :(
Last edited by Alm888 on 16 July 2019 at 12:29 pm UTC
Maybe the problem is in myself, but I am kinda stocked full on low-profile indie games (even more-so with regards to "retro"-styled pixellated ones) and want something modern-looking.
Still, a bitter taste in my mouth: I am almost feeling guilty the GNU/Linux sales are low, while my money gets wasted on some Windows-loving scammers like ArtPlay/505Games (of "Bloodscammed" fame) or Ice-Pick Lodge.
Not my year, probably. If things go the same way I will end up buying "X4: Foundations" at full price. :(
Last edited by Alm888 on 16 July 2019 at 12:29 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
I'm with Liam on this: Clearly Linux sales of games are very low, so it's a bloody good thing game engines like Unity support us and make the barrier to making a Linux version pretty much equally low.
And I definitely think that the developer's assessment was forthright, but fair enough. Interesting note about Linux users tending to have more unusual hardware configurations. Makes sense, really.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 15 July 2019 at 5:12 pm UTC
And I definitely think that the developer's assessment was forthright, but fair enough. Interesting note about Linux users tending to have more unusual hardware configurations. Makes sense, really.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 15 July 2019 at 5:12 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
It's one of my favorite game for the last few years.
It's super fun, with lots of things to do differently with different characters.
It's super fun, with lots of things to do differently with different characters.
1 Likes, Who?
Slightly OT, but the website the developer is talking about is renowned for actively injecting their Windows packages with their own custom DLLs. So it's *really* not recommended downloading from that site!
0 Likes
As an aside, I'm delighted that the dev chose to support us because while it an absolutley superb game, if it was Windows only, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. I've still hardly spent a penny on Windows games that work through Proton and that's unlikely to change for a few years yet.
Great game. Money well spent.
Great game. Money well spent.
3 Likes, Who?
rustybroomhandle Jul 16, 2019
First "Supraland", now this. The story is basically the same: a developer lamenting about low GNU/Linux sales and me being completely uninterested in the games in question (would not even know about them if not for the news on this site).
You did not read the article. There's no "lamenting".... he says the sales are low, but also that it was easy to port and support.
1 Likes, Who?
Chronarius Jul 16, 2019
Once again, how does he get his numbers? Which sales count for Linux? Which for Windows?
Last edited by Chronarius on 16 July 2019 at 12:42 pm UTC
Last edited by Chronarius on 16 July 2019 at 12:42 pm UTC
0 Likes
Once again, how does he get his numbers? Which sales count for Linux? Which for Windows?
Steam gives you those figures. Whatever platform the game is played on attributes the sale. If there's no playtime in the first two weeks, the platform of sale is used for attribution, I think? Need to be careful with that one though, as the default sale platform for attribution is "Windows", so if the game is bought on Android or Steam Play, then not played, I think you end up counting as a Windows sale.
1 Likes, Who?
Yeah, Mirv, that second question would be interesting. I'm extremely "tech-savvy" generally but not really all that tech-savvy about Linux, so I'd challenge that assumption, "all/most Linux users are techies".
Conversely, I use Ubuntu (the "official" platform for running games on Steam) and have only filed bug reports for two games in my nearly 6 years of Linux-only gaming, both recently. One two months ago filed with Chronicon, where the dev didn't know why it doesn't launch on Ubuntu 16.04, but noted that they only support 18.04, and that was that (in that support thread, in fact, Liam helped by noting that it ran on 18.10). And one for a Lime error I was experiencing in Dicey Dungeons, which the dev suspected was an easy fix... and it was. It's now perfect again.
Based on my own experience then, I suspect that the vast, vast majority of support issues are logged by Linux users who are using any distro that isn't Ubuntu. Because, honestly, what else can it be??
Or am I somehow magically blessed with this near-perfect experience?
Conversely, I use Ubuntu (the "official" platform for running games on Steam) and have only filed bug reports for two games in my nearly 6 years of Linux-only gaming, both recently. One two months ago filed with Chronicon, where the dev didn't know why it doesn't launch on Ubuntu 16.04, but noted that they only support 18.04, and that was that (in that support thread, in fact, Liam helped by noting that it ran on 18.10). And one for a Lime error I was experiencing in Dicey Dungeons, which the dev suspected was an easy fix... and it was. It's now perfect again.
Based on my own experience then, I suspect that the vast, vast majority of support issues are logged by Linux users who are using any distro that isn't Ubuntu. Because, honestly, what else can it be??
Or am I somehow magically blessed with this near-perfect experience?
0 Likes
Chronarius Jul 16, 2019
Once again, how does he get his numbers? Which sales count for Linux? Which for Windows?
Steam gives you those figures. Whatever platform the game is played on attributes the sale. If there's no playtime in the first two weeks, the platform of sale is used for attribution, I think? Need to be careful with that one though, as the default sale platform for attribution is "Windows", so if the game is bought on Android or Steam Play, then not played, I think you end up counting as a Windows sale.
Yes, I know. That is what we speculate from some comments of game developers. As we know the algorithm how Valve's creates these numbers from Steam is flawed. As far I know Humble Bundle counts also towards Windows. Wasn't there a statement from Aspyr/Feral about this? What about other stores? Sorry, but there is still more then enough room for wrong numbers.
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Chronarius Jul 16, 2019
Based on my own experience then, I suspect that the vast, vast majority of support issues are logged by Linux users who are using any distro that isn't Ubuntu. Because, honestly, what else can it be??
Or am I somehow magically blessed with this near-perfect experience?
Exactly! This is my experience as well. Ubuntu has become the standard for gaming on Linux.
0 Likes
The numbers that developers get about the sales of their own games are not the same as the numbers we get from the Steam hardware survey. The latter has unknown methodology which, by occasionally having a flaw publicly fixed, has shown us that flaws existed. But the numbers developers get about their game sales are pretty solid because that's about the dollars and cents and nobody would tolerate fudging. There may be a few edge cases where some misleading figure slips in, but who buys on Windows and doesn't play the game and then expects it to count as a Linux sale? True, those figures only tell you about Steam sales, but I don't think there's a pretense otherwise. Effects from other platforms and Steam keys are I suppose a problem, and one which will tend to reduce apparent Linux sales, but it's surely a fairly minor effect.Once again, how does he get his numbers? Which sales count for Linux? Which for Windows?
Steam gives you those figures. Whatever platform the game is played on attributes the sale. If there's no playtime in the first two weeks, the platform of sale is used for attribution, I think? Need to be careful with that one though, as the default sale platform for attribution is "Windows", so if the game is bought on Android or Steam Play, then not played, I think you end up counting as a Windows sale.
Yes, I know. That is what we speculate from some comments of game developers. As we know the algorithm how Valve's creates these numbers from Steam is flawed.
0 Likes
Very true. Pity they decided to bugger it up with the 32-bit library mess.Based on my own experience then, I suspect that the vast, vast majority of support issues are logged by Linux users who are using any distro that isn't Ubuntu. Because, honestly, what else can it be??
Or am I somehow magically blessed with this near-perfect experience?
Exactly! This is my experience as well. Ubuntu has become the standard for gaming on Linux.
0 Likes
Very true. Pity they decided to bugger it up with the 32-bit library mess.Based on my own experience then, I suspect that the vast, vast majority of support issues are logged by Linux users who are using any distro that isn't Ubuntu. Because, honestly, what else can it be??
Or am I somehow magically blessed with this near-perfect experience?
Exactly! This is my experience as well. Ubuntu has become the standard for gaming on Linux.
And then un-bugger it. And I'm not bothered anyway, as I'll use Ubuntu Mate 18.04 (or possibly 20.04) as the base until 2023/25 and hopefully we'll have a better solution by then. That whole thing is a storm-in-a-teacup as far as I'm concerned.
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