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PayPalGarry Newman from Facepunch Studios has put out a new blog post detailing their final plans for the Linux version of the survival game Rust.
It's quite an open and honest post about the state of things, noting that they didn't really do a good job of actually supporting the Linux version. The post mentions how they never routinely tested it, unless they knew something was wrong. Newman also mentions how the "quiet majority" of Linux gamers accept that they're often a second-class citizen but we shouldn't be as we are paying the same. Which is why they made the decision to stop supporting Linux originally in July last year.
Their plan for the Linux version going forward is to split it away from Windows and Mac, along with getting no new features but it will see "maintenance patches". So Linux owners can still play it and play online together, but not with Windows and Mac players.
Facepunch will also not work on any future Linux games, as they "can't/won't properly support it".
A shame this happened, but nice to finally draw a line under it and know exactly what's happening.
If you are after a survival game that's supported on Linux, I can recommend 7 Days to Die which is really good fun [Humble Store - Steam]. Our livestreamer, Sin, regularly shows it off on our Twitch Channel.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Kimyrielle Aug 9, 2019
Quoting: GuestThey could just start developing on Linux like Bacioiu Ciprian is doing and port thier game to Windows and Mac.
You mistakenly assume that the average game dev knows how to install Linux. Or use any development tool not called Visual Studio. Most of these folks have a surprisingly narrow skill-set, sadly. They know the tools they need for making Windows games, and that's it.
I guess disasters like this happen when people that never used anything but Windows all life long assume that Linux is just Windows with a penguin logo and conclude their Windows-only game developed on Windows, using Windows middle-ware, and never tested on anything but Windows will somehow magically compile on Linux because their game-engine has an "Export to Linux" button.
That's unfortunately not the case, as this and many other studios found out the hard way.
16 Likes, Who?
There are so many positive developments around Linux, we should not be discouraged by such things. In two years Rust will run 10 times better under Proton than the current Linux version. Including EAC.
Why Facepunsh-Studios can't do it doesn't really matter. Maybe they should just start using Linux privately. It could fundamentally change their lives and games in a positive way.
Why Facepunsh-Studios can't do it doesn't really matter. Maybe they should just start using Linux privately. It could fundamentally change their lives and games in a positive way.
5 Likes, Who?
Quoting: XpanderI Hope valve will hurry up with the EAC as the windows client in wine (last time i tried, non eac server) worked way way better anyway, with double the framerates of native client
What if that would mean installing a root level spy daemon?
0 Likes
Quoting: GuestI know they mentioned the cheater problem, but don't they relay on EAC, which would make the game break with Proton?
Yep, EAC, that's why I said "work with other parties".
Last edited by Thormack on 9 August 2019 at 10:44 pm UTC
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I bought four copies of this game back when for myself and three of my Windows-using friend group. They probably wouldn't have played the game were it not for me.
After playing it off and on for a while... there came a point where I couldn't get on. It was always Garry saying something nasty about Linux, Linux-only game breaking bugs, and then when they pulled Linux support the writing was on the wall that it was dead.
I have fired it up since then, to test out my new machine.. and I've long been interested in some of the new things they're adding but it was clear that my access to the game was fragile so I mostly disinvested myself from it.
For them to say they're freezing their Linux version because no one plays it.. after they did basically nothing to retain Linux users seems disingenuous to me.
Now it's clear that I won't ever be able to try out any of the new stuff.. so, I guess that's that.
After playing it off and on for a while... there came a point where I couldn't get on. It was always Garry saying something nasty about Linux, Linux-only game breaking bugs, and then when they pulled Linux support the writing was on the wall that it was dead.
I have fired it up since then, to test out my new machine.. and I've long been interested in some of the new things they're adding but it was clear that my access to the game was fragile so I mostly disinvested myself from it.
For them to say they're freezing their Linux version because no one plays it.. after they did basically nothing to retain Linux users seems disingenuous to me.
Now it's clear that I won't ever be able to try out any of the new stuff.. so, I guess that's that.
2 Likes, Who?
gradyvuckovic Aug 9, 2019
Yes this game was a total flop on Linux, and frankly it's entirely Facepunch's fault.
It's amazing there even was Linux players left for this game considering how the Linux customers were treated. Considering the Linux version of the game wasn't marketed at all, was poorly ported with almost zero effort by developers who appear to know nothing about Linux at all, rarely if ever tested and poorly optimised, and had a laundry list of bugs that weren't fixed for a long time, it's amazing anyone persisted with that.
Yes Facepunch was going to have difficulty supporting Linux, when they're making decisions like committing to middleware that is overtly incompatible with Linux, and not even testing their game or even running it on Linux, until Linux players report massive bugs, and not even attempting to learn anything about how the Linux platform works or how to develop for it. They seem convinced that they should be able to treat supporting Linux like just exporting a song into a different file format, like they should be able to just click Export in Unity, pick Linux, and call it a day.
Unsurprisingly when you treat the Linux platform like that, it shouldn't be surprising when your game is a total flop on Linux. If you put in zero effort, you should be grateful you get any sales at all. This isn't a report card on Linux gaming, Linux gamers bought this game at launch and played it, and they were let down by the abysmal support from Facepunch, and thus sales/player numbers reflect that. This is just a case study on how not to develop/publish/support a game to any platform.
And really if Facepunch are going to disconnect Linux version of the game from the Windows/Mac playerbases, and freeze it's development, they might as well just remove the Linux build entirely, since that just basically made the Linux version of the game absolutely worthless. Because otherwise Windows gamers converting to Linux who use to play Rust, will get their hopes up only to discover the Linux version is broken, and just have a terrible experience as a result.
It's amazing there even was Linux players left for this game considering how the Linux customers were treated. Considering the Linux version of the game wasn't marketed at all, was poorly ported with almost zero effort by developers who appear to know nothing about Linux at all, rarely if ever tested and poorly optimised, and had a laundry list of bugs that weren't fixed for a long time, it's amazing anyone persisted with that.
Yes Facepunch was going to have difficulty supporting Linux, when they're making decisions like committing to middleware that is overtly incompatible with Linux, and not even testing their game or even running it on Linux, until Linux players report massive bugs, and not even attempting to learn anything about how the Linux platform works or how to develop for it. They seem convinced that they should be able to treat supporting Linux like just exporting a song into a different file format, like they should be able to just click Export in Unity, pick Linux, and call it a day.
Unsurprisingly when you treat the Linux platform like that, it shouldn't be surprising when your game is a total flop on Linux. If you put in zero effort, you should be grateful you get any sales at all. This isn't a report card on Linux gaming, Linux gamers bought this game at launch and played it, and they were let down by the abysmal support from Facepunch, and thus sales/player numbers reflect that. This is just a case study on how not to develop/publish/support a game to any platform.
And really if Facepunch are going to disconnect Linux version of the game from the Windows/Mac playerbases, and freeze it's development, they might as well just remove the Linux build entirely, since that just basically made the Linux version of the game absolutely worthless. Because otherwise Windows gamers converting to Linux who use to play Rust, will get their hopes up only to discover the Linux version is broken, and just have a terrible experience as a result.
4 Likes, Who?
It is interesting how accepting/resigned to the fact that proton is the best way to game on linux these days. When it first came out many said as long as native ports dont suffer well lets be brutally honest if its not from Feral vp or nightdrive its not coming natively to linux. Proton is the reality of linux gaming dont get me wrong am not down on it think its a great investment by valve and a sensible business decision vs windows and Epic store. But back to my original point we kind of all got to the point of meh what you going to do very quickly.
0 Likes
Anticheat working with Proton will be the next big thing. As much as I want Linux ecosystem to grow, I really can't justify the expectation of a linux port. It may not popular opinion but developers can probably make more money instead of supporting Linux. FURTHERMORE many of the supposedly native Linux ports are lacking. What good is the game running on Linux if it's not properly developed and optimized for the platform?
Proton is as far as I see it a great solution for developers who have modest interest in Linux but can't justify supporting the platform.
And in chosing Vulkan to ensure the game complies with Proton, indirectly it will pave the way for a future where crossplatform software are used. This will inevitably lead to native ports for all platforms and the optimization will be largely the same for them. The way I see it the important issues for Linux gaming, at this point in time with our 1% marketshare, isn't native support but anticheat working with Proton or/and Proton being further polished (D9VK maturing more for example).
But if ever the time comes where Linux gains 10% marketshare, I will no longer be happy with Proton and demand native port. Because at that point developers will have little to no excuse for doing a native release, and I will consider it a big negative if developers rely on Proton.
Last edited by Linuxwarper on 10 August 2019 at 1:14 am UTC
Proton is as far as I see it a great solution for developers who have modest interest in Linux but can't justify supporting the platform.
And in chosing Vulkan to ensure the game complies with Proton, indirectly it will pave the way for a future where crossplatform software are used. This will inevitably lead to native ports for all platforms and the optimization will be largely the same for them. The way I see it the important issues for Linux gaming, at this point in time with our 1% marketshare, isn't native support but anticheat working with Proton or/and Proton being further polished (D9VK maturing more for example).
Quoting: Whitewolfe80It is interesting how accepting/resigned to the fact that proton is the best way to game on linux these days. When it first came out many said as long as native ports dont suffer well lets be brutally honest if its not from Feral vp or nightdrive its not coming natively to linux. Proton is the reality of linux gaming dont get me wrong am not down on it think its a great investment by valve and a sensible business decision vs windows and Epic store. But back to my original point we kind of all got to the point of meh what you going to do very quickly.The reason for this makes perfect sense. Linux has 1% marketshare. In my opinion, with some exceptions, making a Linux port is not worth it. Because of that I am content playing games through Proton as long as it runs well.
But if ever the time comes where Linux gains 10% marketshare, I will no longer be happy with Proton and demand native port. Because at that point developers will have little to no excuse for doing a native release, and I will consider it a big negative if developers rely on Proton.
Last edited by Linuxwarper on 10 August 2019 at 1:14 am UTC
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