linux support?

[*Yuki*]

[ROCKFISH Games]

Well, we never promised to have Linux support in the Beta and things can always change in game development. In fact, we spent quite some time to have a Linux build and it turned out that we ran into more issues than expected. However, there is a good chance that we will have Linux support with OpenGL 4.0 in Early Access. If you are not happy you can always request a refund. /Michael

[Gecko]

Originally posted by ROCKFISH Games:

There is a good chance that we will have a Linux port in the near future. We currently have a running version, but it is not ready for release as it has massive shader precision problems and constant flickering when using OpenGL, making the game pretty much unplayable. We also had a few problems with the mouse controls, but we got these working a few days ago. Our hope is that when using Vulcan the precision issues will disappear. /Michael

Could you publish an unstable branch for linux? We can report bugs and developpers, like me, can provide some help :)

[sergk]

Originally posted by ROCKFISH Games:

If you are not happy you can always request a refund. /Michael

That is not what I meant. I'd like to support you with my money and my time. Although I'd be much happier when I will be able to play the game.

Cheers!

[Robert Loblaw]

+1

[Night Nord]

"Opengl shader precision problems". What?

GLSL translates to the same thing as HLSL. And it's hard to believe you've failed to add highp to every variable, which should fix all the "precision problems" in theory. Unless there is a compiler bug. In that case there are like 6 different implementations on opengl on Linux. It's highly unprobable that no implementation works well. If that's a compiler bug.

And if that's not a compiler bug I can't understand how exactly vulkan can help you as it uses the same GLSL (with spir-v as intermediate format, but hey - most of implementations already has an intermediate format of some sort, so it doesn't change a lot).

So all this "wait for X guys" (with X being "vulkan" right now) starts to sound like simply stalling time. All the linux users were out of the loop for alpha and beta and now, probably, early access (so much for feedback and community involvement).

And no, "if you don't like something you can get a refund (aka go ♥♥♥♥ yourself)" doesn't work here. Kickstarter isn't a shop and we all know that. But it works in both ways. You may ditch a feature or a portion of community with no reason or proper explanation, but if you want to continue using the platform I suggest not doing that. Today you've ditched linux, tomorrow you've ditched the single player, or multi player or some other major feature.

So I would suggest given the issue a proper visibility through kickstarter mails and major announcements with explanations what exactly gone wrong, why you think vulkan is going to help you, etc. You are not making us a favor here, it's a feature you've promised and announced it's "hopefully" coming (later on) a few times already. So stop trying to put blame on the platform or opengl or whatever. DOOM is made with opengl, so there are clearly no (unfixable) problems with this one.

[GkarleNarn]

Originally posted by ROCKFISH Games:

Well, we never promised to have Linux support in the Beta /Michael

Oh wait ... you joke ? i ask before Alpha launch which version i should buy and you reply on twitter that linux will be launch during beta ... beta just ended .... and nothing appeared.

It's always the same ... linux is always the last system to get access to game ... and there's always fools to say watch stats by OS on steam ... linux is minor os ...

THAT'S NORMAL DEVELOPPERS NEVER FULLFILED THEIR PROMISES.

Now gives me my money BACK !

[ROCKFISH Games]

Indeed, Linux support was planned for Beta until we ran into major shader issues in OpenGL 3.x just as we did on Mac OSX. Apart from support for Linux and Mac we shipped the Beta as estimated during our Kickstarter. We then found a solution with Metal in El Capitan and meanwhile things are looking promising in OpenGL 4.0 under Linux. There is a slight chance we will get it in for Early Access, most likely by the end of September.

Generally, change of plans are not an unusual in games development. In fact, bearing in mind we got only three engineers working fulltime on Everspace, being a true indie studio without backing from a big publisher or investor and compared to slipped features and releases of other (space) games, I think we are pretty much on track with what we “promised” in our Kickstarter.

If you are truly unhappy just send us an email with your #order and we will give you a refund. You can see for yourself that we have always been pretty transparent about the state of development: https://forum.everspace-game.com/discussion/924/mac-linux-support-coming-during-beta/

/Michael

[sergk]

Michael, please read this thread with this in mind - people frustated waiting and trust is somewhat strained. Sometimes emotions outmatch rationale. That said, I am personaly OK wait.

[ROCKFISH Games]

Sergk, no worries, I do. I just wanted to put things into perspective. The whole team is working super hard on all ends and we are still committed to deliver a decent version on Linux as soon as we can. In fact, our lead tech has spent quite some time on his past weekends to make progress with the Linux build.

After all, I take this as some very positive from feedback from the Linux gaming community. I would hate if you guys didn’t care to get your hands on the game that we have put so much work and passion into. Looking forward to what you guys think when you have played it! ;)
/Michael

[Kossak ✞]

Waiting for linux version too, thank you for working on it.

[Squiddy]

Very much looking forward to the Linux build, thanks for the good communication here. Really nice to see such open communication from developers.

[GkarleNarn]

I've just asked for a refund : https://forum.everspace-game.com/discussion/1426/beta-version-0-1-3-28905#latest

That's my first and last game that i bought on pre-version ... thanks for that.

[lassal]

Originally posted by ROCKFISH Games:

In fact, our lead tech has spent quite some time on his past weekends to make progress with the Linux build.

Give that man a kiss on the mouth. Do it!

[Burnout]

Originally posted by ROCKFISH Games:

There is a good chance that we will have a Linux port in the near future. We currently have a running version, but it is not ready for release as it has massive shader precision problems and constant flickering when using OpenGL, making the game pretty much unplayable. We also had a few problems with the mouse controls, but we got these working a few days ago. Our hope is that when using Vulcan the precision issues will disappear. /Michael

Oh, good to hear :-)

[RanceJustice (Kyo)]

Thank you for the update. I can hope to see Linux support for EverSpace arrive as soon as plausible for it to do so, but it is more important knowing that it hasn't been simply cut out of the program entirely! Thanks for having the conviction to continue and know that the Linux community appreciates it!