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#563251 19/02/15 07:37 AM
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Where is the Linux version?

Nearly eight (!!!) months after the Windows and the Mac version we are still waiting for the promised Linux version. Will the game be ever released for Linux? The last news about Linux is over two months old (The game has to be just compiled! - How slow is the system?!).

Although I loved divine divinity (via Wine!) I slowly begin to doubt it was a good idea to back this game and give my money to this company. This is a real shame and no good advertising for Larian. There are many people that backed this game on Kickstarter for the promise of getting a Linux version.

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Alfred E.

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In the kickstarted video the programmer said it was basically finished, and was quickly corrected, not that it just needed to be compiled. He meant the block with the middleware was resolved and there was just the details to finish, but details can take awhile.

The last news was a week ago, with some tweets, posted about in the Steam forum.

Originally Posted by Swen Vincke
We've had quite a few problems with it, more than we expected. Middleware & people are the two main ones (ctd)
We're now in a state where we need to reconcile the Linux specifics with the branch we've continued working on
There's more but long story short: it will still take some time. We don't regret not using a Wine wrapper, but (ctd)
It sure as hell would've made our lives a lot easier. Once it's there however, our engine will be running well on it(ctd)
Like the Mac version, and that'w here we wanted to end up. Apologies for any frustration and money back of course if (ctd)
it is too much to bear. It's not as if we planned for it to take this long and the investment we had to do (ct.)
is far more than you would imagine, cause again middelware. We should've checked that up front.

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Short answer to a gamer on Twitter is NOT an official statement or news about the status of the game for Linux. Details can take awhile?! Yea, this is the question to Larian. How long? Another year? Two? Five? We (Linux users!) have funded the game because Larian wrote in the Kickstarter campaign: "Coming to Windows, Linux and Mac". Windows and Mac versions are there for over seven months. We are still waiting...

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You can't give an exact time needed to debug software. You can't say "It'll take exactly three weeks to render it bug-free". Any specific number given would just be a guess.

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Originally Posted by Alfred E.
Where is the Linux version?

Nearly eight (!!!) months after the Windows and the Mac version we are still waiting for the promised Linux version. Will the game be ever released for Linux? The last news about Linux is over two months old (The game has to be just compiled! - How slow is the system?!).

Although I loved divine divinity (via Wine!) I slowly begin to doubt it was a good idea to back this game and give my money to this company. This is a real shame and no good advertising for Larian. There are many people that backed this game on Kickstarter for the promise of getting a Linux version.

Thanks,

Alfred E.


I've always found it strange that people who use OSes other than Windows are willing to wait for months/years--and sometimes forever--for ports of their most-desired games to show up...During the eight-years I used nothing but Amigas (owned at least one of every model C= made, almost) and ran nothing except Amiga OS/Workbench--because Windows at the time was dependent on by-comparison very crude/primitive x86 hardware, DOS, CGA/EGA, etc.--I remember still being frustrated by having to wait for Amiga versions of games. But at the time, there were huge hardware differences that justified the wait.

Today, I can't see any justification for not at least running a dual-boot of Windows to run the games you want when they ship--as opposed to having to wait months/years, and many times never seeing a port made of the games you want. Today, there's no difference in the hardware at all, and if you're someone who loves computer gaming it doesn't make any sense *not* to run Windows. And of course, emulators are always second-best. But I can understand the reluctance, possibly, if computer gaming is something you can take or leave. But I enjoy it as a primary use for my home computing, and as such I'm not going to sit around for months twiddling my fingers and cursing, hoping for a port that may never come...;)



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Originally Posted by Waltc
I've always found it strange that people who use OSes other than Windows are willing to wait for months/years--and sometimes forever--for ports of their most-desired games to show up...


Sorry, you don't get the point. I'm not willing to wait. Linux was an announced feature of the game - like MP or coop. We have funded the game because of the announced Linux support and not because we are willing to wait for Linux as option to a windows version. That's a big difference. And, yes, there are a lot of companies that released Linux and Windows versions on the same day. Larian is - fortunately - an exception and not the rule.

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As was stated during the kickstarter, Mac and Linux development was stopped due to lack of resources, and only restarted, and those versions confirmed, once the goal was reached. As described, the Mac version was completed first, and then work began on the Linux version. Unfortunately, there were delays and interruptions due to problems with both the Mac version (issues with Yosemite and low end graphics cards that required a workaround in the game) and Linux.

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Originally Posted by Raze
As was stated during the kickstarter, Mac and Linux development was stopped due to lack of resources, and only restarted, and those versions confirmed, once the goal was reached.


The Kickstarter page is still listing Linux as supported operating system. Coming to: Windows, Linux, Mac. On Apr 25 2014 tha status was: "Furthermore, you can expect a Mac version on Steam Early Access and a version of the game for Linux some time after its full release on PC/Mac"

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Originally Posted by Alfred E.
Originally Posted by Raze
As was stated during the kickstarter, Mac and Linux development was stopped due to lack of resources, and only restarted, and those versions confirmed, once the goal was reached.


The Kickstarter page is still listing Linux as supported operating system. Coming to: Windows, Linux, Mac. On Apr 25 2014 tha status was: "Furthermore, you can expect a Mac version on Steam Early Access and a version of the game for Linux some time after its full release on PC/Mac"


Without trying to be obstinate...;)..."sometime after its full release on PC/Mac"...can mean delays of months and/or possibly years--and the PC version is still being changed/improved at this date. Generally, when it comes to gaming on Linux, delay is the name of the game--and that's nothing specific with regard to Larian, it's that way for all AAA Linux releases. That's why I recommended dual-booting Windows (you can pick up 8 for a song and the upgrade to 10 is free!) if you are someone who enjoys computer gaming as more than just a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. D3d12--if it lives up to its advance billing--will do more to separate Windows gaming from any other OS gaming API (OpenGL, etc.) than anything produced in the last decade. This won't be like any other D3d API release in the past, if the current scuttlebutt is true...I'm usually very cynical about these things, but Microsoft seems to be heading in the right direction with D3d12.


I'm never wrong about anything, and so if you see an error in any of my posts you will know immediately that I did not write it...;)
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Registered just for you Waltc ;) You are wrong. This was the case three years ago, but not today. You still don't understand the difference between games which are _announced_ for Linux and games which are announced just for Windows and later ported to the free OS. That's a BIG difference. As example yesterday Nordic released the announced Win/Lin game "Book of the unwritting tales 2" for Windows and Linux on the same day.

Larian is a black sheep and not "the name of the game". There are announcing and not delivering. But it doesn't matter. I'm not a founder and will never fund a Larian game. If they don't want the money from the Linux community it's OK for me. There are a lot good games for Linux already.

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Originally Posted by NVN
...As example yesterday Nordic released the announced Win/Lin game "Book of the unwritting tales 2" for Windows and Linux on the same day...
With due respect, there is quite some difference between an adventure game using 2D graphics and an RPG making heavy use of 3D - not least the greater choice of middleware for cross-platform 2D games.

Larian might have had an easier time with Mac/Linux conversions if they had used the likes of Unity3D but it would likely have meant performance compromises (plus Unity might just not have been a viable option when D:OS started development). However the fact that a Linux port is underway (and a proper one, not just a prettied-up Wine wrapper) should be considered a positive step, however (regretfully) long the delay in releasing it.

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Originally Posted by Stargazer
With due respect, there is quite some difference between an adventure game using 2D graphics...


The BouT is using OGRE, a scene-oriented, real-time 3D rendering engine written in C++. BouT2 is using Unity. Both games are using 3D engines and not 2D graphics.

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Then I stand corrected, but BouT is still less demanding on the 3D side than D:OS (no ability to vary viewpoint, etc) and has simpler mechanics.

Having said that, Ogre3D was apparently used for the 2005 game Supremacy: Four Paths to Power so could likely have done a credible job for D:OS (and might even be the "problematic" middleware alluded to by Larian).

However it is difficult to hold an informed debate about Larian's development process without being an insider (heck it might be difficult even for the lead designers...) so we just have to hope a native Linux release is worth the wait.

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Originally Posted by NVN
You still don't understand the difference between games which are _announced_ for Linux and games which are announced just for Windows and later ported to the free OS.


A big +1 on this. If it's announced (and backed by $$$) to Linux it should have the same priority as Win/Mac. I'm too waiting for the Linux version (having bought the game and all), haven't played a single second yet.

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Yes, where is the Linux version? Looks like I will be playing The Witcher 3 and Pillars Of Eternity before I get to play Divinity: Original Sin. :-(

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It'll be done when it's done.

That said, I do believe they messed up on this one. It's always harder to start developing on one platform and then "port later" instead of just taking the hit up front by developing on all platforms simultaneously (I'm also kind of curious why they managed to port to Macintosh but Linux is proving a major headache, they're both UNIX-based systems, so that seems odd. That's a *real* thing I'm wondering btw and not sarcasm/cynicism on my part).

I can however appreciate that money was a concern during development and Larian has so far always made good on their promises so I'm quite willing to cut them some extra slack. (Besides I have no issue playing the game on Windows)

As to why many of us are willing to wait "months/years" for ports. It's quite simple: many of us do not use Windows at all, and justifying paying $150 or something for a Windows license (on top of the extra hard disk space needed to keep the OS around) is kind of hard given the rather large body of games currently available for Linux, especially if said person isn't a hardcore gamer.


* as usual this is imho (unless stated otherwise); feel free to disagree, ignore or try to change my mind. Agreeing with me is ofc also allowed, but makes for much worse flamewarsarguments.

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Kowalification;
As quoted above, the Linux version of the engine is being updated with the current changes to the game, some of which are still a work in progress.


theBlackDragon;
The difference is presumably support for middleware between Mac and Linux. The main issues were middleware and people, so possibly key people may have quite or been sick for awhile during the Linux porting.

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Originally Posted by Raze
theBlackDragon;
The difference is presumably support for middleware between Mac and Linux. The main issues were middleware and people, so possibly key people may have quite or been sick for awhile during the Linux porting.


Possibly, it's kinda hard to judge from where we stand anyway, middleware is such a generic term it could mean almost anything.

I'm just glad it's still coming and I'm sure they Larian a thing or two about porting to Linux so future game ports will be smoother smile


* as usual this is imho (unless stated otherwise); feel free to disagree, ignore or try to change my mind. Agreeing with me is ofc also allowed, but makes for much worse flamewarsarguments.

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Sorry, but you cannot be serious. Middleware problems? Which kind of problems? Maybe Larian should communicate this to the community. A lack of communication is a massive problem and the reason that Larian has such a bad reputation inside the Linux community. Last month Pro-Linux.de, Germans biggest Linux-Portal, wrote about Larian - and this was not an advertising article about the company.

We are talking about a delay for nearly 10 Months. In this time a normal skilled coder is able to rewrite a whole game. Loki and LGP were able to port a whole game to Linux within 2-4 Monaths. And, Larian needs over a year for a port of the own game? Sorry, this can be just a joke... or Larian is not working on a port of this game. This is probably the reason that the game is still not available for Linux.

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I find it interesting to note that in the current "SteamOS Sale" that Valve are running, they say:

"The year's most popular games are headed to SteamOS (many of them are already here)"

and in the list of games (not all of which are discounted), D:OS is conspicuous by its absence.

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