Update: Mentions of a Linux version have now been removed from the Steam store. According to the developer, they will not remove the Linux version and people on Linux did buy a "completed game" but it won't see any more support going forward (source). They also said the Linux version will see updates "but Linux specific bugs won't be addressed" however "gameplay balance, graphical bugs, most game crashes, etc will be fixed regardless of what your OS is" (source).
How about a kick in the teeth with your coffee this Friday morning? Well, that's what I've got for you. Developer HopFrog has announced they will be removing Linux support for Forager and Mac is no longer coming. Forager only released in April this year too.
Buried in their Q&A post on Steam was this:
Unfortunately, both Linux and Mac have proven very difficult for us to work with. Forager will no longer be available for Mac and Linux moving forward. Any plans to bring the game to Mac have now officially been canceled. This is a very difficult choice I had to make, and if you are interested in knowing why I and hundreds of other game developers are ditching Mac/Linux, take a look at this article!
I'm particularly annoyed about this one, since I consider it to be a fantastic game and gave it a very positive look. Not just that but to announce it in such an almost casual way, feels pretty uncaring about all the people that have already purchased and played it on Linux.
To get into what they linked to, it's an article talking about problems with supporting Mac due to a bunch of changes Apple are doing. It doesn't really touch on Linux and HopFrog bundling Linux into this feels quite wrong because no, hundreds of game developers are not ditching Linux that's just false.
What the linked article shows is an image from the developer Robotality for their 2014 strategy game Halfway, showing Linux at 2% sales/Mac at 4% with support requests for Linux at 30%/Mac at 50%. Sales around that mark for Linux are quite normal, any developer expecting more must have done no research. I would like to point out that Robotality themselves do continue to support Linux, with Pathway releasing in April this year.
Now onto the support requests bit. Looking over the Forager forum, the main issues on Linux seem to be the game running too fast and no gamepad support. The first issue was already solved and was a problem in Game Maker, the second is another Game Maker engine problem as YoYo Games seem to be reinventing the wheel rather than just using something like SDL 2 to get awesome gamepad support (and lots of other things not just for Linux). If you release a game on a platform that has two issues you would see if you booted it up even once, you're clearly not testing.
I've reached out to HopFrog to ask about their plans for refunds since it was not mentioned.
Additionally, I've reached out to Valve to see what they have to say about this repeating situation since that's Rust, Natural Selection 2 and now Forager that have all decided to dump Linux support after release. Not a lot of course but even one removing support is not a good look and doesn't look great on Valve either if they do nothing to help their customers out. You can argue "Steam Play" but to go over my previous point on this, the question of actual support arises once again there too and people purchased this on Linux because the developer supported the platform.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: SayuriI built my engine myself and had to port my game manually to Linux and macOSX and its not really the hassle the developer makes it out to be? Also, the macOSX notarization process can be automated from the command line, you can just add it to your Makefile and get the notarized build back. Its still going to be a huge confusing hassle, but you're doing it for your playerbase?
(How to notarize an app package, binary, or ZIP file)
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/notarizing_your_app_before_distribution/customizing_the_notarization_workflow#3087734
What game did you make ?
Or what engine ?
If i may ask.
https://twitter.com/_HopFrog/status/1180171064141209600?s=19
It's been added to our wiki list of games that removed Linux.
Article updated.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 4 October 2019 at 6:41 pm UTC
linuxjacques Oct 4, 2019
I already bought the PC version because it supported Linux.
I don't like the way this was handled at all.
Chronarius Oct 4, 2019
Quoting: KlaasI think it's really insulting that the developer dragged Linux into the “Apple hates developers and end users” mess deliberately giving a wrong impression.
Yeah, and calls others "disrespectful" for telling him "Welcome on the ignore list!"
BTW: What has the publisher also known as Humble Bundle to say to this?
Quoting: ChronariusQuoting: KlaasI think it's really insulting that the developer dragged Linux into the “Apple hates developers and end users” mess deliberately giving a wrong impression.
Yeah, and calls others "disrespectful" for telling him "Welcome on the ignore list!"
BTW: What has the publisher also known as Humble Bundle to say to this?
Reading lots of feedback and opinions by devs you'll see many being very closed-minded and prejudiced against the Linux ecosystem. Still. After all the years with great dev tools and environments they're still supporting each others opinion that Linux is a hell to support and not worth it (market share).
Moreover, those are typically the same devs that are very thin-skinned when it comes to criticism.
Waiting for this dev to call "us" ungrateful. That's usually the final step in the escalation. :)
Quoting: GuestI'll start with this line, quoted from the Steam forum:
"You bought a completed game and that is what you got, it's yours forever!"
The problem I have there is that although not labelled as early access, it's clearly not a completed game. Digital distribution services have made it easy now to release a game for money now, patch in features later to "complete" the game. By and large this is a good thing, but there are some gotchas mostly centered around the game originally bought is no longer the game that is available.
Some of this the digital distribution service could help with. Some of it the developer must directly have a hand in. An update breaks the game? Oh, sorry, we don't support the game (which was paid for) anymore, too bad - and there's no way to obtain the original working game. That's really not customer friendly, even if it's unintentional.
There is a simpler way of putting it: if the game is "completed", why would you ever release an update/patch?
And does any developer actually want a model where the first version they release is definitive, with no chance to ever fix any bugs found? Are they capable of doing enough QA for that to work?
For a long time now, post-release support is an integral part of any software. It is expected and necessary. No, an outdated build of the game is not enough. No, "it works in Proton" is not the same.
Avehicle7887 Oct 5, 2019
Their game: Mac and Linux versions never released on GOG since day 1.
I fully understand releasing on GOG won't be a magic bullet but that statement contradicts itself. How is that % going to rise up if you don't sell it in the first place.
rustybroomhandle Oct 5, 2019
Quoting: Avehicle7887The dev: "very few players use Linux"
Their game: Mac and Linux versions never released on GOG since day 1.
I fully understand releasing on GOG won't be a magic bullet but that statement contradicts itself. How is that % going to rise up if you don't sell it in the first place.
A developer can't just release a game on GoG. They have to submit it to them and hope that whomever reviews it likes it enough to want it there.
Some high rated and popular games have actually been rejected by GoG in the past.
Quoting: rustybroomhandle(…)A developer can't just release a game on GoG. They have to submit it to them and hope that whomever reviews it likes it enough to want it there. (…)So you imply that GOG rejected the Linux version (because “it's too niche”) while they liked the Windows versions enough to release it?
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