Sad news today Linux gamers, Psyonix emailed us directly to make sure we saw the news that they're officially ending support of Rocket League on Linux and macOS.
Their published statement on this was quite short and didn't really explain much:
As we continue to upgrade Rocket League with new technologies, it is no longer viable for us to maintain support for the macOS and Linux (SteamOS) platforms. As a result, the final patch for the macOS and Linux versions of the game will be in March. This update will disable online functionality (such as in-game purchases) for players on macOS and Linux, but offline features including Local Matches, and splitscreen play will still be accessible.
If you purchased Rocket League for Mac or Linux on Steam, the game will still work with full functionality when installed and played on a computer running Windows 7 or newer.
So the Linux and macOS versions will still be there, but left old and online play will be disabled. Not good. Not good at all and as a huge Rocket League fan I'm not pleased—annoyed you might say.
This "new technologies" bit was interesting, perhaps they've decided to go DirectX 12 with an Unreal Engine upgrade? At this point we can only speculate with so little information. In the expanded support page, for Linux they mentioned playing Rocket League with Steam Play Proton is possible although they will not be supporting it.
When Psyonix became part of Epic Games back in May last year, many speculated that Rocket League would not only drop Linux support but also leave Steam. I didn't think either would happen but here we are, Psyonix has still never said they will continue to sell the game on Steam only that it would see "continued support". Originally, I thought meant it would go free to play, but with this move it seems a little more likely it will move over to the Epic Store which doesn't support Linux.
Update: Psyonix are now suggesting to request a refund from them on their support portal.
Update 2 - 24/01: Psyonix are now telling us "macOS and Linux players can reach out directly to Steam to request refunds and they will be honored. In these cases, Steam will make an exception to their 2 hours limit rule.". Their own support ticket team are now also saying to ask Steam for the refund, although Valve has denied my own refund twice.
In situations like this, Valve ideally need a better support system in place or at least an option of platform removal to get around the usual way. As we end up going in circles.
Update 3: After making their PR team aware what was going on with the refund situation, they've now released a statement on Reddit. Refunds will be accepted on Steam now, plus they gave the reason behind removing Linux and macOS support.
It's what I suspected as written above, they're upgrading to a higher version of Direct X which is a problem as the "macOS and Linux native clients depend on our DX9 implementation for their OpenGL renderer to function" and they're not willing to put resources into Vulkan/Metal for Linux/macOS when the combined player-base was apparently "0.3%" of the active total and when "viable workarounds exist" with Wine being mentioned.
They could have gone for Vulkan though to get Windows + Linux (and Stadia) and possibly even macOS with MoltenVK. It's a shame another company decided to stick with a proprietary API. That said, it may not have been possible if they're on quite an old version of Unreal Engine.
If you do get a refund for it, be sure you use that Steam Wallet funding for a developer that does support Linux. Make it count.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Mountain Man Jan 24, 2020
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoI remind you that STADIA IS LINUX and big publishers are supporting it..I think like Android and Chrome OS, Stadia is more Google than Linux.
Luke_Nukem Jan 24, 2020
https://trello.com/c/lzLwtb5P/124-vulkan-for-pc-and-linux
Unless it means they already implemented it? Can anyone who has access to UE4 code confirm please?
Quoting: Luke_NukemDoes anyone remember when Sony got sued for removing OtherOS support? Shouldn't that set precedent for suing others who remove support *after the fact*?
I don't only remember that, i know they lost that suit. There is Legal precedent hence why they are accepting refunds otherwise they would be liable for a similar lawsuit which they would lose asap since this is clear cut the same thing.
Timmy will keep doing this though he learned the hard way many of this bs after Microsoft slap him in the face a couple of times. Valve needs to do the same, smack him into oblivion, may he will go and pick another personal fight against EA or ATAVI.
Quoting: Mountain ManWe're still niche, and that's a problem. Developing for Linux is more attractive than ever before, but we're still a tiny percentage which makes long-term support a problem for many studios.
I get the argument for Linux, less than 1% is niche indeed. But Linux + Mac is arround 4% market share which is not niche at all!
In the end this is very simple, there are companies that care about their customers and companies that don't. I'm not talking about Psyonix because they probably did not have a word to say but about the parent coompany.
Quoting: ShmerlSomething is rotting in Epic.???
is?
rotting?
I thought Epic is already rotten to the core. :)
Honestly, in the recent years we were "flooded" with Linux releases cancellations from Kickstarter projects using UE4 as their engine. There was a constant stream of complaints from developers that Linux support in the engine is only nominal and they need to basically fix broken (or differently working) parts of the engine. On a game per game basis as all those fixes are not getting into the upstream "vanilla" engine.
According to my perception of things, if a project chooses UE4 as an engine, there is 80% chance of the Linux version being cancelled. (The remaining 20% are just due to stubbornness and decency of developers willing to overcome obstacles that have arisen).
That being said, my condolences to those heavily (morally or monetary) invested in the game at hand. Even though on-line competitive sports racing games are not my cup of tea (like, at all!) it is still sad to see this happening.
Someone said it is a victory for "GOG/DRM-free believers"… Well, only if a short-lived one at best. GOG cares about Linux users as much as about dirt on the floor. It did allow developers to drop Linux support right at game release and is absolutely content with games like "RUINER" never getting recent Linux updates (yes, I've contacted both GOG's and "Reikon Games" support services -- the decision not to release 1.6c update for Linux is deliberate and official). And I believe "itch.io" and other DRM-free stores do not impose any "Linux support" obligations either. They just don't make fuss about that.
So, in the long term, this "We discontinue our Linux support" practice worrisome. :(
Last edited by Alm888 on 24 January 2020 at 8:08 am UTC
Quoting: Alm888It did allow developers to drop Linux support right at game release and is absolutely content with games like "RUINER" never getting recent Linux updates (yes, I've contacted both GOG's and "Reikon Games" support services -- the decision not to release 1.6c update for Linux is deliberate and official).
Do you mean Ruiner developers skipped updates for Linux just on GOG (but did on Steam) or they simply skipped them all? That's a nasty behavior either way.
Last edited by Shmerl on 24 January 2020 at 8:17 am UTC
Quoting: razing32This feels like a canary in the coal mine in some way.
All of the warnings about centralized servers , no LAN or private servers , etc.
Seems this can hit any game any time
And for the people mentioning Tencent , they are still spreading their web of "transactions" and "aquisitions"
I miss the old days.
Game was released (maybe had a patch later), focus was single player , you had LAN and could play with private servers.
Now games are online , focus is multiplayer and publishers decide how the game is played and it is on their whim what will happen next.
I think the last patch added Steam Remote Play together support, so you will still be able to play with friends against bots. Not as fun as online multiplayer, but something. In March RL on Linux will end up in the same situation as on PS4 - you only have local single and multiplayer. On PS4 you'd have to pay for a PS subscription to play multiplayer, but I don't see people doing that.
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