bennypr0fane

or rather: so lond, GOG.com.
I came here because I wanted to get one specific game that was recommended to me - and I spent a lot of time getting it to run in Wine under Linux. Now that I want to explore some more cool games, I'm heading over to Steam for an effortless, supported, native Linux gaming experience!

bennypr0fane

Please GOG would you by so kind as to commetn on this?

shmerl

Any answer from GOG about the progress of Linux options or on-going plans would be appreciated.

Blanko2

this is literally my only wish for this site. i like giving you money, let me give you my money with less caveats. FTL, Tiny and Big and eventually Reus have or will have a linux version and if you buy directly from them you get both windows and linux, why not just let me download the linux version. the support would still be on the dev's shoulders even - GOG LET ME PAY YOU

boltronics

Can someone from GOG respond on what the hold-up with this is? I vaguely recall reading *ages* ago that GOG was considering options for the best way to package them, but surely figuring it out can't take that long?

Just give us GPG-signed .gz/bz2/xz compressed tarballs that we can extract and run, with dependencies included. Then (if required by licenses) have a download section on your website for source code download links for anything a tarball package might include (eg. DOSBOX).

The only thing I can see GOG having a problem with is the lack of advertising on a GUI installer. If that's the real problem though, it's kinda sad.

As it stands, any games that are similarly priced on Steam to GOG but run native only on Steam end up being purchased on Steam. I'd rather buy from GOG because they don't have DRM, but not so much that I'd buy non-native games when a native option is available elsewhere. A real shame.

NobleBrowncoat

I just wanted to add my voice in support of adding Linux games to GOG's catalogue. I just find it unacceptable that LInux versions of games aren't available when a port exists. This has to change.

shmerl

In general, I agree that if GOG could improve playability of some of their Windows games with Wine (example Bard's Tale) it would be appreciated. But it's a separate effort, nothing to do with the proposal of this thread.

shmerl

@shaddim: Please stop spamming this thread with Carmack's proposals for Wine support. This thread is about native Linux games. Open another if you need it.

yunix

**doom3

yunix

Rage was $5 at gamestop only a couple months after its release, and in fact everything Carmack has touched since Doom2 has been a tech demo labeled as a game. I like Carmack: he's done more for FOSS gaming and Linux gaming in a non-proprietary format than anyone else I can think of, but the last line of that article says it all:
"The conventional wisdom is that native Linux games are not a good market. Id Software tested the conventional wisdom twice, with Quake Arena and Quake Live," Carmack wrote. "The conventional wisdom proved correct."
The fact that they failed to sell the same game repackaged on the same system twice tells us nothing about the Linux ecosystem.

shaddim

fixed link: http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/wine_as_a_supported_platform
@yunix: your comment is already a wish, http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/humble_bundle_support_and_keys

shaddim

Well, maybe we should demand more pragmatic but proven approaches from GOG (as starting step), like linux ecosystem support via WINE: http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/wine_as_a_supported_platform. Advantages: existing, well known, widely used, stable API/ABI to address.

Recommended by John Carmack, and as always, in the end he is right. ;) http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121945-John-Carmack-Argues-Against-Native-Linux-Games

(PS: support wish, which deserves more votes: http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/obtain_source_code_for_games_where_possible )

evktalo

I've bought a good bunch of games from here, even though I don't have a platfrom that's actually supported by GOG.. official Linux support would very likely make me buy more! (:

yunix

Getting involved with the humblebundle.com would probably be a good way to get the ball rolling for DRM free linux games from gog.com. I'm ready to make gog.com my one-stop-shop for video games if you start selling DRM free Linux games. :)

Esteban

I'm a Linux user, and even though I hate DRMs as long as GOG.com doesn't release linux versions of games I will buy on steam :/ Please do something ;-)

MagnusZink

I am a good GOG customer and find their approach to DRM excellent. Their packaging of games with docs, musics and goodies is also admirable. However, I am on the fence when considering buying a game that I know already exists with a Linux port. From now on, I will buy these on Steam or Humble Bundles as I can be sure that they will offer a Linux version. This will severely impact the games I do buy on GOG.

phajn319

I just don't understand you, gog.com. I can't! There's A LOT of already ported games in the library. For example, Double Fine games! DOSbox games! Please, get it. Just get it. Do like fish sticks?

qchto

this is sad, but even when I don't wanna, I'm considering abandon this cause. it's begining to feel pointless without any relevant (or at least new) official feedback, and more so if we consider you're losing your status of "the only option"..
c'mon GOG, it's been a while since your last statement and we're already over the 10K mark.. at least a "we haven't forgotten this" would be nice..
or even if your answer is a straight "no".. but give us some motivation to keep going or finish this already..

shmerl

@TonyFlow: If the game is available through Humble Store widget, it surely is the best deal now, since you get the access to versions for all OSes. While GOG offers only Windows and Mac OSX ones. I'm willing to pay more through HB, but to get the Linux version in result.

TonyFlow

Just an example : I discovered "Don't Starve" on the Steam market, then i see that gog.com sell it too ! I prefer buy here (and have a DRM-free game) but... if the game is on Steam, a linux version should exists, so i don't want to buy a windows version only :/

Well, I went to the official website of the game in order to buy it directly. Steam and gog are cheaper (promo everywhere) but I buy it on the humble store. For $13.49 i have the linux version, without DRM, other versions too, and a steam key :)

Really, I don't understand why the linux version is not available on gog.com

shmerl

Valve doesn't release their titles DRM free outside Steam, so that's a bad example.

sylar666

Portal and Left4Dead 2 betas in Steam for Linux.
Just saying.

Future_Suture

shmerl, you're a star. Thank you for the link. I shall view it once I am less sleep deprived. Keep up the passion!

shmerl

Witcher request should be more directed to the CDPR, rather than GOG. Even though they are related, GOG team aren't developing the Witcher series, they are working on the distribution and packaging.

You can voice your interest here:
http://en.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?/topic/33897-the-witcher-3-on-linux

Future_Suture

You know what, GOG? I have raised my standards. I now want the whole The Witcher series as well as Cyberpunk 2077 on Linux for me to purchase for myself and my friends as compensation for the wait you are putting me through. That's right, GOG. You're going to compensate me by letting me give you money.

brflan909

would be most appreciated. Just go into Linux, and being able to install my Good Old Games would definitely ease the gaming transition. If most of GOG's library was available on Linux in an easy-to-install manner, the Linux gaming world would probably explode, in a good way.

Cheers to GOG and fingers crossed they listen!

Siavash

10002 ^^

Agent_Tau

It's over ten thousaaaaaaaands!!! :P

shmerl

10,000 votes? GOG, you've got to do something.

shaddim

interesting option for GOG's free and open source third platform choice: Haiku, potentially better fitting the GOG spirit
http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/add_haiku_versions_of_games

shmerl

ScummVM and DOSBox are not the focus of this request anyway. It's about native Linux games.

shmerl

> If there were a way to unpack the
> GOG installation archive exe files
> instead of only installing them on Windows

There is such way. Search for innoextract.

patricklibuda

If there were a way to unpack the GOG installation archive exe files instead of only installing them on Windows, you could quite easily copy the game files to a directory in a Linux (or probably any other system that runs either DOSBox or SCUMMVM natively) directory and then play your GOG games on the system of your choice. With certain games where the original CD is supplied as an ISO and used as such under DOSBox you might have to take a closer look at the DOSBox config stuff supplied with the game and/or the content of the Windows desktop shortcut created after installation of the GOG version.

Those of you with a separate Windows partition or a second computer available with Windows running might be able to kind of migrate their DOSBox or SCUMMVM based former DOS stuff to Linux or any other system of choice (install under Windows then copy the stuff over to the machine of your choice...)

I have forgotten how the midi stuff works under Linux but there should be a possibility of solving potential sound issues that might arise

imAgi

Given the Steam numbers, and what game developers have said themselves about what they have seen, It is highly probable that GOG would have seen higher revenues from Linux support than that of a platform that is synonymous with DRM.

NRoach44

Regarding Linux *support* - Emulated Games (DOSBox, ScummVM etc,) should be run through the distro's version - just ask where to put it, and set up a script to run the installed version with a certain configuration.

Native Games should have warnings/notices ragarding *KNOWN* compatible versions/distros, and should ship with most of the specific/picky libraries (eg not X, alsa etc, but smaller ones) inside the archive/tarball.

brian

Well it seems there are many decisions to be made regarding Linux. I am not aware of or knowledgable on the issues surrounding Linux, but it seems gog should seek an experienced point of view to make a better decision. Having support for Linux is good for Linux and gog as well. As more people begin to shift towards Linux operating systems, support for them will become an ever more undeniable truth.

georgecgrant

We like Linux. We don't like Windows. More linux games makes more games we want to get.

shmerl

I brought Debian Sid as an example, since Ubuntu is based on it. Otherwise Debian stable and testing should be good enough as well. I encountered one time a game from Humble Bundle which was compiled for glibc newer than in current Debian testing (probably focusing on Ubuntu's version) - which made the game unplayable out of the box. Other way around though this shouldn't be a problem I think, so Debian stable/testing should be a very good base. I'd add RPM based distros to that mix (Fedora / openSUSE). Covering tests on these would give GOG enough feedback.

Agent_Tau

The distro choice is not just a matter of technical feasability, it's also a matter of being *contractually bound* to your customers.

It's much more legally secure for a developer/publisher to offer support on a well defined subset of distros and distro versions, because *even if* we'd have universal installers that would theoretically run on any Linux box,
1) QA staff has to test the installers on the target configurations before publishing, at least if they are willing to do their job right,
2) Support staff has to answer in a proper way to the questions from customers stuck in the install process or execution, so if they have to allow support for plenty of Linux distros, they have to know what could possibly break the install process in every of those distros (which means it takes more time to teach a staff employee, moreover a skilled employee usually has higher wages... right?); if they don't know when the question is raised, they'll have to take time to make research. And as you know time's money...

I'm working in computer services, and even if I'm a GNU/Linux fan, I wouldn't ever take the risk of saying to my customers "Go for it, pick any distro and install my software, it's gonna work!". It would be like glueing a handgun on my head and going out with a t-shirt saying "Please don't pull the trigger". Generally speaking it can be so easy to get bankrupt because you promised too much to your customers, and when you end up being forced to deliver, either you fail and your customer will walk away in rage splashing you with bad rep, or you charge more staff to get the issue solved, with high risk of bursting your budget line...


I'd be perfectly happy if GOG said "We offer support for Debian stable and testing, for x86_64 architecture only, without heavy customization, i.e. without any modification aside from the configuration options provided by the stock install (like kernel rebuild from source)". (btw shmerl, I have the feeling you're quite cocky suggesting to provide support for Debian Sid ;) I personally wouldn't take such a risk).

I prefer an actual small step now from GOG rather than a long-awaited big leap later (how many years have we been waiting for more mainstream Linux gaming?).

Anyway to get back on the "technical" side, if more and more games become available for Debian, its child distros will most probably make whatever tuning *might* be needed to be compatible as well (once more GOG, sticking to the Linux Standard Base would help a lot; would be nice even if in the end you wouldn't promise support for said child distros).


--------
TL;DR: even if universal installers would technically work, a company has to set limits on what they promise to their customers.
Just Debian support with LSB compliance is fine IMO.

shaddim

@Xabyer_B: it's not: "only games". This is the hard part, games are among the most complex & demanding software products mankind is able to produce. So, the worth of a system can be seen on the capability to run games. Also, Humble Store and Steam is supporting only subsets of the linux ecosystem (and both have problems with that).

@shmerl: the distro fragmentation hydra rises is head again... I think this complete thinking in distro categories is bogus. Games (and in general apps) should be distributed as distro-agnostic bundles. Period. Everything else are approaches from the last century, customers can expect now some kind of abstraction from such annoying details. The crap just has to run reliable and also in the long term (breaking of stuff when a distro updates is inacceptable).

Xabyer_B

Now I use Xubuntu 12.04 (64 bits) to everything but I have a partition with windows because it's the only way to play some games. I use windows exclusively to play videogames.

Legend of Grimrock is avaliable to linux (I can see it in Steam and Ubuntu software center), so please add support to linux games like Humble bundle and steam did. FLT is other game avaliable to linux, and some more. Please lauch those games that have been officially released in linux.

Dosbox and ScummVM are avaliable on linux, so don't forget those God old Games.

shmerl

I'd say instead of Ubuntu, just support Debian then (stable, testing and sid). Ubuntu will get supported by default in such case. Debian is more generic and many distros are based on it. It makes more sense to iron out support for such metadistros, so I don't think Steam made the best choice to begin with Ubuntu.

Hyoscine

I feel that, initially, just supporting the same distro as Steam makes a lot of sense. Not to say Ubuntu is "best", but a one-stop gaming alternative to Windows would be incredibly worthwhile, and actually in GOG's long term interests.

shmerl

Yep, I thought of getting "Don't Starve" here, but after seeing that it has a Linux version, didn't get it on GOG. The rule of the thumb now is - first check if the the game has a Linux version from the developers, and in that case get it from them. GOG, you are losing sales!

Agent_Tau

If you are frightened by the support costs of multiple GNU/Linux distros, and I can understand that, let's be more specific :
* no need to support every popular Linux distro. Just take for example 3 big ones : Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora. If it feels still too much to you, just pick only one (let's say, Ubuntu ?).
* Sticking to 64 bits versions of the aforementioned distro(s) seems pretty much reasonnable.
* Offer support only for the latest stable release of the distro(s).
* Also, regarding Ubuntu specifically, stick to dependencies with support from Canonical (packages classified as "main" or "restricted").

Following those steps would mean you'd offer support only for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 64 bits. Seems much more doable that taking on a whole ecosystem, right ?

On a sidenote, I guess Steam had more or less the same reasoning, as they offer support only for "Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or 12.10 with the Unity, Gnome, or KDE desktop" : https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1504-QHXN-8366

Hope you'll jump in ultimately.

clayborn902

i know how you guys are felling. so I hope that these great games will come to linux. they came to mac (which is what I use)
that has aloud me to play some good old games, so hopefully this will be your year, there isn't just one linux, so patients is needed.

yamilegend

I know many games work with wine but that you guys offer games that would be native to linux YES Yes Yes.

cicyractu

Today I have noticed a tweet about the release of 'Don't Starve' on GOG.

This is the first time I heard about this game, and I was immediately charmed. When I saw that the game has both a Windows and a Mac version, I thought about checking out for Linux on the developer's site, and YAY! There it is. So, through HumbleStore, I got both the DRM-free Linux download, and a Steam-key (with a Linux version also available).

So… Can you guess what content delivey system / store got left out as a result?

shmerl

Yeah, recently X3: Terran Conflict came out for Linux, but only on Steam. I didn't buy it, since I don't use Steam because of DRM. I wish GOG could offer game developers an alternative for DRM free Linux digital distribution!

BowserJr

A huge part of the reason I buy from gog rather than Steam when I can is the lack of DRM, but now Steam are selling native Linux versions, it becomes much harder to convince myself that gog is the best way to go. Clearly this needs to change to remain competitive.