Icculus Ports Prey Game Client To Linux

[Yfrwlf]

By the way, I skipped this game when it first came out and every body (and I mean every body and their aunt) were talking about it (for the XBox 360). Never saw it, and never really cared about it... I'm quite literally getting out of the Demo, and I must confess I'm hooked. To the point that I have already pre-order it, now hopefully Icculus will be able to deliver and release the full client by Dec. 07 as TuxGames states as the general availability date.

Jumping on the wishful-thinking bandwagon, but I cannot help but ask to myself if this sudden announcement and release of Prey for Linux mean that maybe Prey 2 will come Linux-ready out-of-the-box? That's a yummy thought, and even if it doesn't, I'll buy it when the Linux client is released, just like I just did with Prey 1... But also can't help but wonder if part of the money I just spent on the game will indeed make it to 2K, 3D Realms and Human Head...

By the way, you gotta love all the references there are to Rune (Human Head [then called GoD games, IIRC] also developed it), there's reminiscence of it even in some characters! Rune is to date, one of my favorite games ever.

Well, obviously Microsoft wouldn't want that, and they are pushing for "exclusive titles" for the 360 and Windows. This could be illegal but in order to create a game for a console like the 360, I was under the impression that you had to have their consent for stupid legal reasons, I mean, they even require that all the retail boxes look the same, and in these days I'd be surprised if you can even put "for Windows" on the box without Microsoft's consent. Even if "third party" games without permission from these console or OS companies were possible, they could do things like withhold interoperability information from you under the guise of needing to "protect their 'IP'" (a term which no one should ever use) and demand an NDA and then in the NDA they can weasel in terminology to force exclusivity perhaps, but I dunno. All I know is the legal system is out of control and it's scary so it wouldn't surprise me. I would sure hope they'd be sued for doing such things but MS and other companies have done much worse.

IANAL though, and damn proud of it. >.<

For a "third-party" title like Prey, I guess it's not too much of a shock, but with console companies buying up exclusivity deals and buying up developer shops left and right, I fear only the scraps will be left for Linux and Mac, and that this situation was a somewhat rare one. Glad Linux and Mac are around to put pressure on them though at least! ^^

[Yfrwlf]

Oh, you mean like the "brief" joy we had with UT2004 containing the Linux installer on the game's install media? I eager to see this kind of support rise again for Linux games.

Yes exactly, and it's too bad things have backpedaled. One could speculate all sorts of reasons for why that one happened even though Linux adoption was slowly increasing and still is, but yes, it'd be nice to see it again.

Though, you know, it would be easier to put Tux on the box and target Linux as a platform for normal computer users if there was a system for easy cross-distro app installation for Linux, though at least we have raw binaries until then but they aren't as nice as packages. Package managers, we're waiting on you to shape up.

[deanjo]

Possibly 2K games are doing it as a "test the waters" with little upfront cost to them if the have the client sitting around anyway? It's an old game, so a sales jump on the foot of releasing a Linux client can be attributed in part to the client. Even if it's people buying the Windows version to play with Linux using friends, it still sales generated by having a Linux version available.

A logging of the final binary by unique IP would probably be a better indicator of the potential market. Many people may already have bought the game and will simply use it and the downloadable binary. Sales are more then likely just going to reflect people that do not already have a copy of the game in any form.

[deanjo]

Yes exactly, and it's too bad things have backpedaled. One could speculate all sorts of reasons for why that one happened even though Linux adoption was slowly increasing and still is, but yes, it'd be nice to see it again.

Though, you know, it would be easier to put Tux on the box and target Linux as a platform for normal computer users if there was a system for easy cross-distro app installation for Linux, though at least we have raw binaries until then but they aren't as nice as packages. Package managers, we're waiting on you to shape up.

The problem with distributing the games as packages is that you are constantly waiting for someone to update and package them. It's a lot easier to build a "Universal installer" to support the various distros. Now if distro's used PackageKit it would allow for a "Universal Installer" if someone would code the appropriate backend.

[Dragonlord]

In fact this is one of the goals I have . If you decouple the game content from the delivery system and the game engine system you arrive at a pluggable and easy to port deployment solution. Hence you make the game once and it deploys to any platform you want ( nearly... some platforms are evil... especially consoles ).

[Thetargos]

Speaking about "packaging", I wonder if either of the two most prominent package management systems (dpkg/rpm) could handle installation through an installer such as Loki (or its new version MojoSetup) and register the installed application(s) with the host package manager. I'd assume that support for this would depend on the package manager. So for example, when finishing installing a .bin/.run/.sh installer archive, a routine could be written to detect the host PM, and then register the application (files and paths) with it, so that it may then be manageable through its native tools (especially useful for uninstallation, as more often than not uninstall scripts fail)

[RobbieAB]

A logging of the final binary by unique IP would probably be a better indicator of the potential market. Many people may already have bought the game and will simply use it and the downloadable binary. Sales are more then likely just going to reflect people that do not already have a copy of the game in any form.

It depends what they want to measure....

Two metrics come to mind: 1) How many people play it on Linux, and 2) How many extra copies will a Linux client sell.

Realistically, they don't care about 1, they care about 2. For 2, download numbers are irrelevant, they don't care how many people are playing it on Linux. What they want to know is how many extra sales a Linux version will generate. If you already have a copy, you will clearly buy the game without a Linux client, so they don't care about the fact you would like a Linux client, you will buy without a Linux client being available.

What I was suggesting was that they want to measure is how many extra sales providing a Linux client will generate, irregardless of the platform those sales will be run on. Don't forget that a Linux client may generate extra windows sales, due to the friend effect. That wouldn't show up in the download numbers. At the end of the day, they don't care what you do with the little piece of plastic once they have your money, and they are in the business of selling you little pieces of plastic.

[Yfrwlf]

The problem with distributing the games as packages is that you are constantly waiting for someone to update and package them. It's a lot easier to build a "Universal installer" to support the various distros. Now if distro's used PackageKit it would allow for a "Universal Installer" if someone would code the appropriate backend.

Update and package them? There won't be any updates required unless they want to release an update for their software like normal. Not talking about a universal installer as much as something better, a package, so that you can have the program register itself with your OS which provides all kinds of features like being able to easily update and remove it as well as share libraries when available, that way when the company does release an update to the game or whatnot, it will could appear in your system updates. All you need is for the existing package managers to adopt at least one additional package format so that you can then create cross-distro packages, or you update the existing managers to support existing formats and/or you update those existing formats if necessary. Basically, all Linux users need a system that allows them to easily install any Linux software, whatever it takes. If the ISO wants to push at least one XML package format standard, great, I'll use whatever package manager that will adopt such a system.

But until at least one good packaging standard comes along and is adopted by most all the common managers (though hopefully more will come and also be adopted as well) regular binaries and other solutions will have to do, and if they wanna use an installer front end and use Package Kit, all the better. Linux users just need more freedom and easier access is all. Any features help with Linux adoption and if you use Linux, you should care about adoption because it does effect you.

[deanjo]

It depends what they want to measure....

Two metrics come to mind: 1) How many people play it on Linux, and 2) How many extra copies will a Linux client sell.

Realistically, they don't care about 1, they care about 2. For 2, download numbers are irrelevant, they don't care how many people are playing it on Linux. What they want to know is how many extra sales a Linux version will generate. If you already have a copy, you will clearly buy the game without a Linux client, so they don't care about the fact you would like a Linux client, you will buy without a Linux client being available.

What I was suggesting was that they want to measure is how many extra sales providing a Linux client will generate, irregardless of the platform those sales will be run on. Don't forget that a Linux client may generate extra windows sales, due to the friend effect. That wouldn't show up in the download numbers. At the end of the day, they don't care what you do with the little piece of plastic once they have your money, and they are in the business of selling you little pieces of plastic.

The thing is that your not showing potential market by just counting the linux sales. If you did then as been mentioned before many times is you would have a grand total of less then 2000 people playing it on linux if you went by Quake sales and we all know that number is ALOT higher. If I was a publisher I would laugh and ignore the linux crew too based on that number.

[RobbieAB]

But if you are a publisher, you don't care how many Linux copies you sell, you care about how many extra copies you sell by providing a Linux version, even if they are windows copies. Don't underestimate the friend effect.

The people who have already paid for a windows copy don't matter as a Linux customer, the publisher already gets those peoples money, so really couldn't care less if those people want a Linux version.

The number that matters is not how many Linux players there are, but how many sales a Linux client generates. These are NOT the same number. A Linux client could generate extra Windows sales, a lack of a Linux client will cause some Linux users to buy the Windows version.