Prodeus cancels the Native Linux version, focusing on Proton compatibility (updated)

I honestly have split feelings on devs dropping native and going with "ensuring proton compatibility."

I generally don't mind proton, at all. The problem is that it does kind of screw over non-Steam storefronts a little bit, not that there was much competition. It's true enough that most people, myself included, have the majority of their digital game library in Steam anyway so it's not that big a deal for most in practice.

I imagine it's pretty likely that like a lot of these projects, they treated linux as a stretch goal and didn't even try to support linux until long after bad choices were unknowingly made in terms of being linux-friendly later -- a lot of said decisions are little more then 3rd party library choices and general considerations when building the game/app, or larger ones like frameworks, but not things easily changed later. Dollars to donuts says when they started looking at making it linux compatible it was as simple as "this might actually be hard to get working" vs. "what happens if we try it in Proton (and seeing it works with little to no effort)". It's not always entirely the developers fault, take the very popular .Net stuff that Microsoft openly claims is cross-platform -- which it is, but not in a way that anyone would assume that actually means.

To be honest I don't mind devs not making native version of games.. lets be real here Linux doesn't have a stable api/abi.. its a moving target and to be frank I have quite a bit of native games that just out right don't work anymore just after few years or so. It gets old dealing with that bs so if they want to just support proton fine.. regardless if a game has a native version or not if you buy the game on steam in Linux it counts as a Linux sale

Unfortunately this is a trend that will go on in the future.
Making native Linux games is hard especially when you have to deal with third party engine which may not handle Linux as well as Windows.

or Linux libraries... it change very frequently and break many applications, it's hard to maintain a software if you can't maintain a stable system, or avoid manipulating the userspace

Simply put No.
Windows has the same issue, and to fix it they bundle specific DirectX versions, DLL versions and other things like visual c++ with each game. That is a lot of bloat to be fair but it causes less problems in the long run. Ever installed a windows game via steam? Maybe you have seen it when it installs those packages when you first start the game.
That said it would work the same way with libs on Linux, but 5 minutes google seems to be to much to ask for most devs these days.

Unfortunately this is a trend that will go on in the future.
Making native Linux games is hard especially when you have to deal with third party engine which may not handle Linux as well as Windows.

or Linux libraries... it change very frequently and break many applications, it's hard to maintain a software if you can't maintain a stable system, or avoid manipulating the userspace

Do note that many of those are not "Linux" libraries and that the games uses them on Windows as well (SDL, OpenAL and so forth). The difference is that these are supplied by the distribution on Linux and by the game devs on Windows and Windows devs does not know how to properly bundle libs on Linux so they depend instead on that the distro provided libs maintain ABI compatibility.

Unfortunately not many lib deverlopers think about keeping ABI compatibility, one major culprit here is SDL, thankfully there are external devs trying to fix this like https://github.com/libsdl-org/sdl12-compat that is a lib that is ABI compatible with v1.2 of SDL but that uses the newer 2.x distro supplied lib for the actual implementation, aka a shim.

And what we need is more such projects (or for lib devs to follow how glibc handles backwards compatibility).

Unfortunately not many lib deverlopers think about keeping ABI compatibility, one major culprit here is SDL, thankfully there are external devs trying to fix this like https://github.com/libsdl-org/sdl12-compat that is a lib that is ABI compatible with v1.2 of SDL but that uses the newer 2.x distro supplied lib for the actual implementation, aka a shim.

The shim you linked to is a project that is part of the official SDL github account and has many commits by icculus and other SDL developers, so it is debatable that only external devs care about compatibility issues.

I was waiting for this game for a long time since it gave me in my mind an experience close to Doom 2016 on my GeForce GT 710 on MX Linux, thanks to the Linux native support.

Nowadays I have upgraded to a humble but fascinating for me GeForce GT 1030, and my experience with Proton being better than a Linux native build can't be more obvious that is a lie.

XCOM 2, Slime Rancher, Inscryption, Everspace, The Last Campfire, etc.

All games that not only runs much more fluid, but that they start immediately on Play, which it's not often the case when using Proton with all the updates and new games.

A shame Prodeus.

Article updated, dev blames Unity directly.

Well I feel a bit of a mug for getting this when I did...
Only reason I backed was linux-native ... the alternative (as I was interested) was wait till release, wait till sales and pick up a windows game for cheap...

Yes teh game is fun, yes it runs well in Proton but that wasn't why I handed over my money early..

I won't be buying any of their future games and I will only buy full-price if native AND released, otherwise sales.

bad form... really bad form.


Last edited by Naib on 6 Sep 2022 at 6:50 pm UTC

Time and time again people in the community say "ThAt A LiNuX BuIlD Is A ClIcK Of A BuTtON" but it's always proven to not be that simple time and time again.

Unfortunately not many lib deverlopers think about keeping ABI compatibility, one major culprit here is SDL, thankfully there are external devs trying to fix this like https://github.com/libsdl-org/sdl12-compat that is a lib that is ABI compatible with v1.2 of SDL but that uses the newer 2.x distro supplied lib for the actual implementation, aka a shim.

The shim you linked to is a project that is part of the official SDL github account and has many commits by icculus and other SDL developers, so it is debatable that only external devs care about compatibility issues.

Sorry if I worded that incorrectly, it wasn't my intention to mean that only external devs care about compatibility issues. And you are quite correct, sdlcompat was started by iccolus, don't know why I remember it being started by a 3d party... Sorry about that.

Not that Unity is flawless or anywhere near, but so many native games built with it have come out just fine over the years that this generic "graphical errors and various other issues" line makes it sound more to me like another Kickstarter project that already has the money and doesn't feel like delivering, especially now that Valve "did it" for them. It's why I refuse to throw money at non-released titles anymore.

At this point, I might as well buy a laptop from Microsoft and run Windows

What, and lose the excuse to hang around here being negative about everything?

A crowdfunded game doesn't get a promised Linux port? Wow, that's new! /s

This game did have high hopes in my book, what a let down.

The other game on my radar is System Shock, which I don't know if it'll ever materialize. Today I read Tencent bought the rights to System Shock 3, which basically guarantees the series will be ruined after SS2 in the same way the Halo series is pretty shit after 3, even more so with Infinite judging from fan's remarks this year.

Unfortunately this is a trend that will go on in the future.
Making native Linux games is hard especially when you have to deal with third party engine which may not handle Linux as well as Windows.

or Linux libraries... it change very frequently and break many applications, it's hard to maintain a software if you can't maintain a stable system, or avoid manipulating the userspace

Simply put No.
Windows has the same issue, and to fix it they bundle specific DirectX versions, DLL versions and other things like visual c++ with each game. That is a lot of bloat to be fair but it causes less problems in the long run. Ever installed a windows game via steam? Maybe you have seen it when it installs those packages when you first start the game.
That said it would work the same way with libs on Linux, but 5 minutes google seems to be to much to ask for most devs these days.

This isn't a question of "5 minutes of Google": it is about figuring out how Linux works and fixing the bugs now, which can take quite some time, and maintaining it for the future. With tiny devs it is mostly not a question if they could do it skillwise, but wether they have the time for it. Remember: in software development, each feature you work on is time that could be spent on something else. For them, the choice is working on better gameplay etc. or working on a native Linux port which might work worse or on-par with proton

This isn't a question of "5 minutes of Google"

Yeah, I agree - it's definitely a bit more work than that to ensure Linux compatibility. But they promised to do that work. People bought into their game based on that promise.

Same old problem with crowd funded games - no accountability. Developers have been defrauding the public on Kickstarter for years with these kinds of promises. Whole projects simply walk away with hundreds of thousands of pounds with no repercussions.

I'm not saying what's happening here is on that scale - in the grand scheme of things, "not delivering a Linux version of our game" is a pretty minor form of fraud, but it's tedious how often it happens, and it is still fraud to sell something based on a promise you can't deliver on, even if you think you're justified in blaming a third party (Unity) for that outcome.

(I've seen this defended before, and I think it's because Linux is so small. Imagine if a dev promised a Playstation version of their game alongside the Xbox version, then failed to deliver on the Playstation version - there would be a gigantic outcry. But when it happens with Linux, it's just "ah well, no big deal, there are only 17 Linux users in the world anyway.)

Realistically, we should probably be happy that they're willing to work on a Proton version at all. Look at the Carmageddon assholes, by comparison. Not only did they defraud their Linux customers, they trolled them in social media repeatedly. The Prodeus devs are saints by comparison.

Kickstarter and the likes should hold the developers accountable and instantly refund all customers as soon as one promise is not kept.

Boom, problem solved.

Time and time again people in the community say "ThAt A LiNuX BuIlD Is A ClIcK Of A BuTtON" but it's always proven to not be that simple time and time again.

I have never said that. I always try to tell "newbie" devs the unvarnished truth; That if they intend to build cross-platform at some point in the future, or even right from the start, then the best time to carefully consider their choices of cross-platform friendly "middleware" and support libraries is right from those early planning stages lest they accidentally paint themselves into a single-platform corner.

Additionally, I've actually got a couple of games in my library where a dev did "just click a button" (simply because he was asked for a Linux version) and it ended up running fine because those devs built from day one on well-known battle-tested cross-platform friendly software, so fact is that if you're doing all the right things in the first place, it can sometimes be as easy as "just click the export to Linux button". (Not always I'm 100% sure, but I know for a fact that sometimes it really is that easy.)


Last edited by BlooAlien on 7 Sep 2022 at 10:04 am UTC

Really a shame that another Kickstarter promise is broken like this.

I didn't back this, I missed the deadline by one day, but I would have backed it just because of the promise of a native Linux version. I still do prefer native Linux builds, and I want to explicitly support this effort.

But my stance has changed. I still want to support those devs who decide on a native build, but it's now more about, do I want to play this game? Is it a game I'm interested in and that I want to support? I probably will be able to play it on Linux with Proton. And that's what I'm now concerned about mostly. Does it work on Linux? And if devs decide on supporting Proton, I can live with that. Eventually this (among other reasons) is why Valve has made Proton.

Sure, it's not the same. It feels different. Especially breaking a promise is always a sting. And looks like in this case they didn't put in the proper research if a native Linux build will be possible for them. Maybe experience is lacking, maybe something they need is broken, many reasons possible. That they broke the promise is the real bummer. Not, that the game will still run on Linux, just now using Proton.

Broken promises like this is what kills trust in Crowdfunding. And that hurts other projects already now and will hurt more projects in the future. Of course you've read about the risks, you accepted them when backing... and you will back less because light-minded promises have been made and not fulfilled in the end.


Last edited by Corben on 7 Sep 2022 at 10:54 am UTC

Unfortunately this is a trend that will go on in the future.
Making native Linux games is hard especially when you have to deal with third party engine which may not handle Linux as well as Windows.

Its almost as if a technology where developers have to put zero effort into making a linux port would have an effect on native games oh gee sure wish someone saw that coming. Obiviously we all knew this was a posbility and i remember some people saying "yes but real developers will still make native games".
i remember have that exact comment thrown my way. My reply no they wont why bother if you target the largest market and no pay a penny for a linux version and leave a third party to handle all the error logs and fixing various issues. Lets face it here i ll be generous here we about 2 percent of the market now if you include steam deck. If its my job to make a profit for the company and keep it a float I am not going to make linux my priority or pay for a linux developer or Ryan C Gordon to port it for me, when i can let valve fix and fund making my game work on linux.

But it does go back to my main point i made 3 years ago 2 percent of sales to game made on budget of under 500k is a hell of lot of sales so there is insentive there to make sure you linux fu is strong enough to put out a native version. But if your say Sega and you dont see the benefit any longer in funding feral to port anything anymore because valve will do it for free or without a licence agreement then your going to pick zero cost each time.

Time and time again people in the community say "ThAt A LiNuX BuIlD Is A ClIcK Of A BuTtON" but it's always proven to not be that simple time and time again.

When have the community ever said that? I know that a lot of Windows developers using Unity tends to have that idea when they launch their Kickstarter, but the Linux community(?)