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Steam for Linux

Kickstarter to port Unreal Engine 4 to Linux
The devs of Heavy Gear Assault have started a kickstarter project that includes porting unreal engine 4 to Linux.
As Unreal engine is used by many AAA titles this would work wonders for Linux games support.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stompybot/heavy-gear-assault-0/posts/492404
Dernière modification de knathrak; 3 juin 2013 à 10h58
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just baked. 2 months ago I proposed this idea in a steam discussion and now I see this idea to become true. I'm very satisfied for myself :) , although I think they didn't read my thread...
I'm not really interested in that game, but I've backed for UE4 on linux.
I don't care for the Heavy Gear Assault game either. Porting UE4 on Linux though, opens the door for many AAA titles built using this engine which would be great!
I proposed the idea of kickstarting ports too a few weeks ago, and I'm still working on the website to promote this.

The thing is, this comes close, but it's not the exact same thing as the original devs porting it. The Unreal Engine is considered freeware. The kickstarter project page states:

As one of the first games being developed with Linux support in mind, utilizing Unreal Engine 4, we plan to back port our work back to Epic for future Linux support. Our team plans to provide recent versions of our source code updates to Epic so the Linux Gaming community can benefit through our efforts. This way our revisions can be used by future developers of UE4 to also support Linux

This means that we're talking about a third party altering official software into an unofficial port, with intent of "porting it back to the official devs", which doesn't sound like a very realistic, "can't fail" plan.

If Epic has no involvement with this port of their software, it's unlikely they'll (even be able to) accept the work Stompy Bot has produced, and re-offer it as their own without any trouble.


I'm not comfortable with this kind of setup.
the time line was only like 30 days not going to make it
Doc Holliday a écrit :
the time line was only like 30 days not going to make it

Yeh, noticed the gap too. I think they tried too much at a time, whilst focusing on the wrong things. Their game needs to run on the Unreal Engine, yet the port isn't their primairy goal, but a byproduct of their game.
Fed @Linux a écrit :
I'm not comfortable with this kind of setup.

I understand and share your concerns but I think that development realities will force other UE4 devs to use the backport for their own purposes.
For example star citizen project(using UE4) has mentioned "big porting cost" when asked about linux. If the port has already been done by a company, who would freely provide it, it would be harder to give such arguments. If the codebase exists I think(hope) that the official UE4 devs would incorporate it to the main branch due to 3rd party dev demand.
Dernière modification de knathrak; 3 juin 2013 à 7h40
mastorak a écrit :
I understand and share your concerns but I think that development realities will force other UE4 devs to use the backport for their own purposes.
For example star citizen project(using UE4) has mentioned "big porting cost" when asked about linux. If the port has already been done by a company, who would freely provide it, it would be harder to give such arguments. If the codebase exists I think(hope) that the official UE4 devs would incorporate it to the main branch due to 3rd party dev demand.

I can understand Epic demanding a backport on the UE4, if one of the 3rd party dev's are able to improve upon their work, but a port to Linux isn't necessarily an improvement. It's basically the exact same product for another environment. I don't think it even qualifies as a backport, as Stompy Bot's work will not be applicable to former versions of the UE4, it'll merely be an alternate version.

Also, I don't know who Stompy Bot are. They seem to lack references or franchises. For all we know they might plan to use Kickstarter to raise community-backed funds for a port of UE4, after which they'll try to sell it again anyway (After all they're a small Canadian company). Not saying that they will though, but the lack of references prevents us from ruling that out. We're required to put too much trust in a stranger.

I can't find any sources on there being a demand from Epic for 3rd party development. Their site states relationships with leading third-party content suppliers, but I'm afraid Stompy Bot is anything but leading...

Finally, it requires effort from Epic to incorporate Linux-support into their own main branch. They can't just take Stompy Bot's version and call it their own without having the code revised, modified, or even tested. If Epic has no intent of doubling down on Linux support, they're gonna leave Stompy Bot hanging, whether their port works or not.
Nice.

I rarely ever back a project, but just for Linux support in UE4 I would do it.

A mech game with Occulus support on top of that?.. Eh, I'd like to see the funding succeed! :D



As for the discussion surrounding the port, most of the work will revolve around OpenGL support for Unreal Engine 4 as only DirectX is supported so far. However UE4 as an abstraction layer, so it is not tightly coupled to DirectX implementation.

It is therefore a realistic goal, and not necessarily UE-version-bound as you imply Fed@Linux.



Regarding Epic refusing to integrate Stompy Bot's work, that seems very unlikely to me, unless their code is a complete mess of course. However it should be loosely coupled modifications, so Epic wouldn't have much reason to refuse it.

"Not much" = it could be a silly political reason due to Epic's partnership with Microsoft ; or some wicked moral reason preventing them from integrating something that they would not support themselves, refusing to rely on the good-will of Stompy Bot to maintain their work as they pledged to.
Both reason could happen but do not seem the most likely to me. Hell, Microsoft themselves realesed a new Linux Skype version recently. It's not like they would be so afraid of Linux as to deny its support in the product of one of their backed society '_' (insert evil convoluted plan background music here)



As for Stompy Bot running with the money or weird fears like this: they're not THAT unknown. Sending people with a prototype to the GDC and getting MechWarrior's director is quite the mad scheme for a kickstarter scam...



Finally (long post sorry, but multiple points to adress :Þ), kickstarter fundings have their own pace. I remember earing about Camelot Unchained 1 day before its end, and it was lacking 200 000 $, so I logically thought without a single doubt that it would fail. Nope, they made 400k during the last 24h. So I just don't really try to understand if a project is going bad or ok anymore, as I'm clearly unable to judge accurately x) I'll just throw my penny, then wait and see.
well...our discussion is purely theoretical as the kickstarter campaign does rather badly at the moment...
oh well... someone else, hopefully Epic themselves, will port unreal engine to Linux...
Maybe when Valve introduces steambox which will be Linux only. The rational here being that AAA titles would not want to miss out market share by not being steambox compatible.
Only time will tell...
I need to get PayPal ASAP. Christ, it just hurts to see stuff like the Humble Bundle / Indie Royale Bundles disappear in front of my eyes. Then those Kickstarters and deals on Desura too.
+1 for Linux :D
Ubuntu sucks ass. I want UE4 to be ported to Linux, but why Ubuntu?
JoeyJoeJoe25 a écrit :
Ubuntu sucks ass. I want UE4 to be ported to Linux, but why Ubuntu?
Because Ubuntu support wil basically mean Linux support.
Making Ubuntu software run on any Linux distribution usually isn't such a great problem.
SteamOS support would be better though in my opinion.
Not only is SteamOS made with gaming in mind, but it also uses Debian as a base. This should ensure it running on pretty much anything.
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Posté le 3 juin 2013 à 1h45
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