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BeamNG.drive, a very popular and highly rated soft-body physics vehicle simulator looks like it may come to Linux - if they can find a dedicated developer to join their team.

Quite interesting to see, since it has nearly thirty thousand user reviews on Steam and there's a few thousand playing it right now—just to give you an idea of just how popular it is. From all those users, it's sat at a "Very Positive" rating with the most recent being "Overwhelmingly Positive" so it's doing well.

BeamNG.drive is a realistic, immersive driving game offering near-limitless possibilities. Our soft-body physics engine simulates every component of a vehicle in real time, resulting in realistic, dynamic behavior. The driving feel is authentic and visceral, and crashes are realistic and violent; yet the physics are accessible enough to drive with a keyboard or gamepad while still being authentic with a full racing wheel with uncompromising realism.

Today, the team at BeamNG posted an announcement mentioning a new "Game porting developer" role. For this role, they're looking for someone who has "experience of porting Windows applications onto Linux and game console environments" and you will need "a proven track record of supporting Linux applications, working independently and being entrusted with long-term development projects" so this isn't a quick porting job. To make it even clearer, one of the main bullet points for the role is to "Port our existing Windows technology to Linux/SteamOS/POSIX and other operating systems".

However, it's worth noting this doesn't necessarily mean a Linux desktop port will happen or be released on Steam for Linux, as they're saying it's working with "academic and industrial partners". If/when we hear any more on this, or they confirm it's in progress with a porter we will let you know. You can see the job here if you're interested, they do have other positions open as well.

Check out the game on Steam.

Hat tip to BierHDC.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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9 comments

Tchey Mar 2, 2020
I played one of the very early alpha and it was "nice", very empty gameplay, but already strong physics. I’d be happy to see it coming to Linux now it’s way more mature.
Julius Mar 2, 2020
Unless this has changed, this game actually uses the open-source Torque3d engine, which has a somewhat functional Linux port.
Nivve Mar 3, 2020
It already runs pretty well under proton, so that could mean they won't have significant design limitations to overcome.
TheRiddick Mar 3, 2020
Carmageddon did this sort of thing and that's quite a old game. It be nice if this game have a actually game attached to it and wasn't just a sandbox sim.
Eike Mar 3, 2020
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Quoting: GuestSadly another job though where could I do it? Yes. Can I _prove_ I can do it on a CV? No. My recordable work history took a different route.

My impression was there's more job offers than (good) developers, so I guess there might be a chance without prove of work?
Eike Mar 3, 2020
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Quoting: GuestIt's entirely possible I'm simply a bad developer, but anytime I've tried anywhere slightly outside my core CV experience I hear either nothing back, or get a very nice letter saying no. It's to be expected really. If my current application falls through however, I may look into this because there will be nothing to lose.

To be honest, I dont have much experience in searching for jobs, I'm alraedy sitting in my current one for more than a decade. :) Not exciting, but that's not all bad.

Good luck!


Last edited by Eike on 3 March 2020 at 2:09 pm UTC
Julius Mar 3, 2020
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: GuestSadly another job though where could I do it? Yes. Can I _prove_ I can do it on a CV? No. My recordable work history took a different route.

My impression was there's more job offers than (good) developers, so I guess there might be a chance without prove of work?

It's entirely possible I'm simply a bad developer, but anytime I've tried anywhere slightly outside my core CV experience I hear either nothing back, or get a very nice letter saying no. It's to be expected really. If my current application falls through however, I may look into this because there will be nothing to lose.

Get in contact with one of the established freelance porters. They usually have some extra work they should be willing to let others prove themselves on.
Jollt Mar 3, 2020
Nice! Hope they come to Linux, this is a very cool simulation game
chr Mar 12, 2020
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: GuestSadly another job though where could I do it? Yes. Can I _prove_ I can do it on a CV? No. My recordable work history took a different route.

My impression was there's more job offers than (good) developers, so I guess there might be a chance without prove of work?

It's entirely possible I'm simply a bad developer, but anytime I've tried anywhere slightly outside my core CV experience I hear either nothing back, or get a very nice letter saying no. It's to be expected really. If my current application falls through however, I may look into this because there will be nothing to lose.

IMO (not a lot of experience, and my experience might not be transferable to your situations), (good) employers care about suitability for position more than track record. But "suitability for position" might include communication skills and team work skills. Brilliant devs with undeveloped social and self-management skills are not so sought after these days maybe.
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