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50 games for the free OS available right NOW!

A while ago, [url=http://www.gog.com/news/gogcom_soon_on_more_platforms]we've announced our plans to add Linux support as one of the features of our digital platform, with 100 games on the launch day sometime this fall. We've put much time and effort into this project and now we've found ourselves with over 50 titles, classic and new, prepared for distribution, site infrastructure ready, support team trained and standing by, and absolutely no reason to wait until October or November. We're still aiming to have at least 100 Linux games in the coming months, but we've decided not to delay the launch just for the sake of having a nice-looking number to show off to the press. It's not about them, after all, it's about you. So, one of the most popular site feature requests on our community wishlist is granted today: Linux support has officially arrived on GOG.com!

The first 50+ titles we've have in store for you come from all the corners of our DRM-Free catalog. Note that we've got many classic titles coming officially to Linux for the very first time, thanks to the custom builds prepared by our dedicated team of penguin tamers. That's over twenty fan-favorite GOG.com classics, like &[url=http://www.gog.com/game/flatout_2]Flatout 2, , <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/darklands">Darklands, or Realms of the Haunting we've personally ushered one by one into the welcoming embrace of Linux gamers. That's already quite a nice chunk of our back-catalog, and you can expect more from our dedicated Linux team soon!

Now, for the recent titles. We've got some indie games with native Linux versions that finally find their well-deserved spot in our store. Among them, debuting on Linux, - a well received original comedic Sci-Fi puzzler. On top of that, be on the lookout for two new additions to the GOG.com catalog: [url=http://www.gog.com/game/gods_will_be_watching]Gods Will Be Watching (coming in a couple of hours) and Unrest:Special Edition (Linux build coming right up!), both of them very fresh and intriguing. This is the very first time we can provide you with all the PC versions of a premiere game, and we will continue to do so in the future. If there's a Linux version of a title we're releasing, our aim is to deliver it to you Day-1. But enough about us, let's talk about the games. Here's what you can be playing on Linux today:

Anomaly Warzone Earth
Ascendant
Bionic Dues
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold - first time on Linux!
Blake Stone: Planet Strike - first time on Linux!
Bloodnet - first time on Linux!
Braveland
CLARC - first time on Linux!
Darklands - first time on Linux!
Darwinia
Defcon
Don't Starve + DLC
Dragonsphere - first time on Linux!
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
FlatOut - first time on Linux!
Flatout 2 - first time on Linux!
Fragile Allegiance - first time on Linux!
Gemini Rue
Gods Will Be Watching
Hammerwatch
Hocus Pocus - first time on Linux!
Kentucky Route Zero
The Last Federation
Legend of Grimrock
Litil Divil - first time on Linux!
Long Live the Queen
MouseCraft
Multiwinia
Normality - first time on Linux!
Pinball Gold Pack - first time on Linux!
Pinball World - first time on Linux!
Pirates! Gold Plus - first time on Linux!
Realms of the Haunting - first time on Linux!
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender - first time on Linux!
Rise of the Triad: Dark War - first time on Linux!
Shattered Haven
The Shivah HD
Sid Meier's Colonization - first time on Linux!
Sid Meier's Covert Action - first time on Linux!
Sir, You Are Being Hunted
Slipstream 5000 - first time on Linux!
Space Pirates and Zombies
Spacechem
Stargunner - first time on Linux!
SteamWorld Dig
Super Hexagon
Surgeon Simulator 2013
Sword of the Samurai - first time on Linux!
Teslagrad
Unrest:Special Edition (Linux build on the way!)
Uplink
VVVVVV

As if this wasn't exciting enough, we've put more than half of these titles on a special promo! Head out to the promo page and find out which of them you can get up to 75% off until Tuesday, 9:59AM GMT. Of course, all of the games from the list above that you already own will be updated with Linux versions with no additional cost for you, just as you might have expected from GOG.com.

"OK, but how will Linux support actually work on GOG.com" - you might ask. For both native Linux versions, as well as special builds prepared by our team, GOG.com will provide distro-independent tar.gz archives and support convenient DEB installers for the two most popular Linux distributions: Ubuntu and Mint, in their current and future LTS editions. Helpful and responsive customer support has always been an important part of the GOG.com gaming experience. We wouldn't have it any other way when it comes to Linux, and starting today our helpdesk offers support for our official Linux releases on Ubuntu and Mint systems.

Diversity and freedom of choice have always been an important part of the GOG.com way. We're very glad that we could improve our service with the addition of the free (and DRM-Free) alternative to the commercial operating systems. Talking with gamers is just as important, so we're counting on your feedback! If you've got any questions, suggestions, or run into any trouble, just tell us in the forum thread below this post. Just please be gentle, this is [url=http://youtu.be/qBxbPts5tOk" target="_blank]our very first time[/url] with Linux. Happy launch day, everyone!
I like tarballs. :)
This is _very_ cool! Congratulations on the launch!
low rated
I call shenanigans on that one. This is NOT Linux support by ANY mean. It's DEBIAN-BASED GNU/LINUX and some other distributions (thanks to the tgz) support. And if too many people fail to get the difference (especially PR people who write this kind of news), it means:

I use (many) Linux distributions, and I can't play ANY game (that I have) from GOG.

"Linux" support done wrong. Thanks for trying though.

EDIT:

Since many people reacted to that post, lemme give you a very short feedback I can generate upon 5 minutes of "audit" of the "Linux Tarball":

1. /bin/bash is never guaranteed to exist. [url=http://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/shells/]Actually, the ONLY way to be sure that you get a shell is to call /bin/sh and, WITHIN it, try other shells, if you really want another shell.[/url]
2. The "NOP" in shell (No Operation), is
:
and not
echo -n ""
Post edited July 25, 2014 by bln
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bln: I call shenanigans on that one. This is NOT Linux support by ANY mean. It's DEBIAN-BASED GNU/LINUX distributions support. And if too many people fail to get the difference (especially PR people who write this kind of news), it means:

I use (many) Linux distributions, and I can't play ANY game (that I have) from GOG.

"Linux" support done wrong. Thanks for trying though.
What's wrong with the tarballs?
avatar
bln: I call shenanigans on that one. This is NOT Linux support by ANY mean. It's DEBIAN-BASED GNU/LINUX distributions support. And if too many people fail to get the difference (especially PR people who write this kind of news), it means:

I use (many) Linux distributions, and I can't play ANY game (that I have) from GOG.

"Linux" support done wrong. Thanks for trying though.
I don't think you are correct. When I choose games from my library that support Linux on GOG, I see two methods of installation:

1) Debian package, that can be used on all distros that use them (Ubuntu flavors, Debian, etc.)
2) Tar archive that I can just untar and run.

Anyway, the whole "Linux support" thing here is just based on Linux binary of Dosbox. I used these games on Linux before - just used Wine to run the GOG installer, and then configured and run the unpacked DOS game under Dosbox.
Post edited July 25, 2014 by Kamamura
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bln: I call shenanigans on that one. This is NOT Linux support by ANY mean. It's DEBIAN-BASED GNU/LINUX distributions support. And if too many people fail to get the difference (especially PR people who write this kind of news), it means:

I use (many) Linux distributions, and I can't play ANY game (that I have) from GOG.

"Linux" support done wrong. Thanks for trying though.
I'm guessing it's because distros like Ubuntu/Mint is most popular (if you look at DistroWatch) which means to GOG that they assume most people will be using that. The problem with Linux is that it can't really be compared to Windows when it comes to support, Linux works differently with all the distros.

Personally I would like FreeBSD support but that won't happen, not many choose *BSD for desktop. Still I think what GOG have done here is a step in the right direction, might not be the best way, but something is happening in the gaming world that's been dominated by Windows.
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Cybolic: What's wrong with the tarballs?
Nothing's wrong with the tarball format, it's the content I'm not pleased with.

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Kamamura: I don't think you are correct. When I choose games from my library that support Linux on GOG, I see two methods of installation:

1) Debian package, that can be used on all distros that use them (Ubuntu flavors, Debian, etc.)
2) Tar archive that I can just untar and run.

Anyway, the whole "Linux support" thing here is just based on Linux binary of Dosbox. I used these games on Linux before - just used Wine to run the GOG installer, and then configured and run the unpacked DOS game under Dosbox.
I know very well, but it has many flaws. Making it non-standard, unless you enforce the standard via "The majority" rather than real standards.
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amund: I'm guessing it's because distros like Ubuntu/Mint is most popular (if you look at DistroWatch) which means to GOG that they assume most people will be using that. The problem with Linux is that it can't really be compared to Windows when it comes to support, Linux works differently with all the distros.

Personally I would like FreeBSD support but that won't happen, not many choose *BSD for desktop. Still I think what GOG have done here is a step in the right direction, might not be the best way, but something is happening in the gaming world that's been dominated by Windows.
That could happen. But not with the current way GOG does support "Linux".
Post edited July 25, 2014 by bln
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Cybolic: What's wrong with the tarballs?
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bln: Nothing's wrong with the tarball format, it's the content I'm not pleased with.

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Kamamura: I don't think you are correct. When I choose games from my library that support Linux on GOG, I see two methods of installation:

1) Debian package, that can be used on all distros that use them (Ubuntu flavors, Debian, etc.)
2) Tar archive that I can just untar and run.

Anyway, the whole "Linux support" thing here is just based on Linux binary of Dosbox. I used these games on Linux before - just used Wine to run the GOG installer, and then configured and run the unpacked DOS game under Dosbox.
avatar
bln: I know very well, but it has many flaws. Making it non-standard, unless you enforce the standard via "The majority" rather than real standards.
avatar
amund: I'm guessing it's because distros like Ubuntu/Mint is most popular (if you look at DistroWatch) which means to GOG that they assume most people will be using that. The problem with Linux is that it can't really be compared to Windows when it comes to support, Linux works differently with all the distros.

Personally I would like FreeBSD support but that won't happen, not many choose *BSD for desktop. Still I think what GOG have done here is a step in the right direction, might not be the best way, but something is happening in the gaming world that's been dominated by Windows.
avatar
bln: That could happen. But not with the current way GOG does support "Linux".
Yes, it could happen but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. I see Linux as the first step, then maybe BSD will get some gaming love :)
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amund: Yes, it could happen but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. I see Linux as the first step, then maybe BSD will get some gaming love :)
And then people can complain how only FreeBSD (and derivatives) is supported instead of insert_nameBSD :P
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bln: Nothing's wrong with the tarball format, it's the content I'm not pleased with.

I know very well, but it has many flaws. Making it non-standard, unless you enforce the standard via "The majority" rather than real standards.

That could happen. But not with the current way GOG does support "Linux".
avatar
amund: Yes, it could happen but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. I see Linux as the first step, then maybe BSD will get some gaming love :)
But that's the problem. It's not a Linux support. It's a "some Linux supported". I'm not even talking about the support of a Linux distribution using a libc other than glibc here... but just a "Linux" that is a tiny bit different from the idea they have of Linux.
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amund: Yes, it could happen but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. I see Linux as the first step, then maybe BSD will get some gaming love :)
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silviucc: And then people can complain how only FreeBSD (and derivatives) is supported instead of insert_nameBSD :P
You're no better at portability than the guy who did the "Linux support". If done right, it would support everything from the start. Actually, if statically compiled, a binary in a given format (ELF, for example), and with a portable start script, could run on ANYTHING. And the combination of different binaries formats to provide would be minimal (a handful).
Post edited July 25, 2014 by bln
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bln: 1. /bin/bash is never guaranteed to exist. [url=[url=http://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/shells/]Actually]http://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/shells/]Actually[/url], the ONLY way to
Install it if you don't have it. If you can't, I doubt your system is suitable for gaming. Your post looks more like trolling.

Using #!/bin/sh while meaning bash is a very bad practice because it can default to different shells. Using proper shebangs is the way (if you use bash scripting - use #!/bin/bash, if you use zsh - use #!/bin/zsh in your script and so on). If you expect users not to have some scripting interpreter installed (python, ruby etc. included) - warn the users and they'll install it. No rocket science there.
Post edited July 25, 2014 by shmerl
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Lafazar: Great. DRM-Free and Linux is a perfect match.
+1
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silviucc: And then people can complain how only FreeBSD (and derivatives) is supported instead of insert_nameBSD :P
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bln: You're no better at portability than the guy who did the "Linux support". If done right, it would support everything from the start. Actually, if statically compiled, a binary in a given format (ELF, for example), and with a portable start script, could run on ANYTHING. And the combination of different binaries formats to provide would be minimal (a handful).
I'm getting a slight draft that you don't know what you're talking about or trolling. I shall not engage you further. Statically compiling applications may be "right" for small, simple programs. Does not work for something like wine. But you know what? Do prove me wrong, point me to a "statically" linked build of wine that works everywhere and I shall eat my words.
Between GOG and Steam, Microsoft will have to reconsider its less-than-appreciative posture toward PC gamers.

DRM-free and a real alternative to Windows is great news!

(Though I'm really enjoying Windows 8.1 after a clean install two days ago -- an upgrade from 8 after an upgrade from 7 must have really gummed-up the works.)
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amund: Yes, it could happen but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. I see Linux as the first step, then maybe BSD will get some gaming love :)
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silviucc: And then people can complain how only FreeBSD (and derivatives) is supported instead of insert_nameBSD :P
Most likely but probably not enough BSD users to even voice their opinion on desktop/gaming usage. Generally BSD is considered as server OS only and I have a feeling it will stay that way. I'm perfectly happy using Windows for gaming though and it's nice to see Linux is added to the mix :)