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Active: 1554 users

Starcraft 2 on linux, why not?

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BishopONe
Profile Joined November 2003
Spain242 Posts
January 07 2010 20:31 GMT
#1
Basicly the only reason I stick to windows are games and the only game I play is starcraft. I guess there some people here in this same situation. The game will be released for MAC and MAC is based on a linux architecture, I suposse that getting technical support for another OS is quite expensive for blizzard but I think their effort will be rewarded by all the linux community.

[image loading]

Poll: Starcraft 2 for linux
(Vote): YES PLEASE !
(Vote): no
(Vote): Don't care

Googling I found a petition site where there are more than 20 000 signatures. (Please sign )

Just want to make some noise about this topic hopefully someone in blizzard will take notice.

Thanks!
:D
Catch]22
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Sweden2683 Posts
January 07 2010 20:36 GMT
#2
I hope Blizzard responds the same way Dice did when someone asked them if they were planning on developing games for Linux: "No."

It's painfully obvious that ppl don't even seem to realize why games aren't made for linux.
Puosu
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
6992 Posts
January 07 2010 20:39 GMT
#3
Blizzard could take a huge leap forward if they were the first big company to do this, although I am not informed on how difficult it is to make a game compatible with both platforms it seems like a hugely profitable investment.

I'm all for spreading StarCraft to even more players.
Xxio
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada5565 Posts
January 07 2010 20:39 GMT
#4
Linux is cool but from what I've heard it has major compatibility issues
KTY
BishopONe
Profile Joined November 2003
Spain242 Posts
January 07 2010 20:41 GMT
#5
It's painfully obvious that ppl don't even seem to realize why games aren't made for linux


The game will have openGL support as it will run in MAC, therefore it could run in linux if the released an installer with the linux binaries.
I would agree with you if the game only had DirectX support. nVidia and ATI release their drivers for linux machines aswell so the job is easier than you think.
:D
Guilford
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
Australia290 Posts
January 07 2010 20:47 GMT
#6
there is not that many hardware compatibility issues anymore. Linux can run game well if the game is made to run on it.
Being forgotten is worse than death.
Catch]22
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Sweden2683 Posts
January 07 2010 20:48 GMT
#7
On January 08 2010 05:41 BishopONe wrote:
Show nested quote +
It's painfully obvious that ppl don't even seem to realize why games aren't made for linux


The game will have openGL support as it will run in MAC, therefore it could run in linux if the released an installer with the linux binaries.
I would agree with you if the game only had DirectX support. nVidia and ATI release their drivers for linux machines aswell so the job is easier than you think.


Thanks for proving my point.
mmp
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States2130 Posts
January 07 2010 20:48 GMT
#8
The most recent UT was promised to have native Linux build released alongside the Windows release. They lied.

I think it mostly comes down to the fact that they're writing code to run with the latest version DirectX to take advantage of new graphical features in the API. OpenGL hasn't seen any major updates in a while, no? This coupled with the numerous other system utilities and libraries they may be using, and there are really no guarantees that a Linux port will be worth the cost. Most Linux users already use Wine or set up a Windows partition to do their gaming.

I'll be extremely impressed if it even runs under Wine.
I (λ (foo) (and (<3 foo) ( T_T foo) (RAGE foo) )) Starcraft
ZBiR
Profile Blog Joined August 2003
Poland1092 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 20:50:00
January 07 2010 20:49 GMT
#9
On January 08 2010 05:39 Puosu wrote:
Blizzard could take a huge leap forward if they were the first big company to do this, although I am not informed on how difficult it is to make a game compatible with both platforms it seems like a hugely profitable investment.

I'm all for spreading StarCraft to even more players.

Largely profitable? You mean spending tens of thousands of dollars on solving compatibility issues is worth increasing sales by 0,1%? Cause that's no less than portion of their target using Linux.

Although yes, I'd appreciate it.
Aim Here
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Scotland672 Posts
January 07 2010 20:50 GMT
#10
BishopONe -

If the only thing keeping you on windows is Starcraft, then you might be interested to know that Starcraft runs rather well Linux when using Wine (except that the battle.net screens are a bit garbled). In fact, I don't run Windows at all.

As for Catch]22's comment - I can think of 4 or 5 reasons why some companies won't make a particular game for Linux, but to say that those reasons mean that there will be, or should be, No Commercial Linux Games Ever is just plain silly and wrong. BioWare, iD software, Firaxis, Epic, Maxis and CroTeam, among others, have ported, or had their big-name commercial games ported, to Linux. In fact, the consensus among developers is that writing portable multi-platform code improves the quality of the codebase, since it's sometimes easier to spot bugs on one or other platform. Even if you're a Windows/Mac fanboy, you should approve of a Linux port of <your favourite software here>.
TheYango
Profile Joined September 2008
United States47024 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:02:28
January 07 2010 20:56 GMT
#11
On January 08 2010 05:36 Catch]22 wrote:
It's painfully obvious that ppl don't even seem to realize why games aren't made for linux.

Perhaps you could advance the discussion by *telling* people what you believe that reason is.

On January 08 2010 05:49 ZBiR wrote:
Largely profitable? You mean spending tens of thousands of dollars on solving compatibility issues is worth increasing sales by 0,1%? Cause that's no less than portion of their target using Linux.

Although yes, I'd appreciate it.

This.

It's actually arguable that it won't increase sales at all, because most people running Linux that actually care about Starcraft 2 care enough that they'd still buy the game and dual-boot Windows or Mac to play it. The number of people that are in the camp of "I won't buy this game unless it has Linux support" is virtually nonexistent.

On January 08 2010 05:50 Aim Here wrote:
If the only thing keeping you on windows is Starcraft, then you might be interested to know that Starcraft runs rather well Linux when using Wine (except that the battle.net screens are a bit garbled). In fact, I don't run Windows at all.

This is not true. From having tried Starcraft on different hardware setups and Linux distributions, I can say that performance is inconsistent at best, with one of the prime issue being slight mouse lag. While the game is *playable* in the strictest sense, the mouse lag is a pretty noticeable hindrance past the D-level. Some system experience it worse than others, but to say that Starcraft runs "rather well" ignores the inconsistency.
Moderator
radim
Profile Joined October 2009
Czech Republic122 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:02:07
January 07 2010 21:00 GMT
#12
On January 08 2010 05:31 BishopONe wrote:
The game will be released for MAC and MAC is based on a linux architecture.

technically, OS X is based on UNIX architecture as it has a lot of code taken from FreeBSD, while Linux is made to resemble UNIX architecture (there's no direct connection between Linux and OS X).

anyway, I would really love to see Linux version of SC2, but it's just not gonna happen. it will be the only reason for me to use Windows in the future tho..
끝까지.
Aim Here
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Scotland672 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:04:33
January 07 2010 21:01 GMT
#13
TheYango,
Starcraft used to be slow under a default wine install for a long while, though it was fixable with a tweak to an obscure wine registry entry ( 'RenderTargetLockMode = readtex' ). Now, with newer dev versions of wine (note that a lot of distros will default install 1.0.1, a very old version), the registry entry is set correctly by default, so the performance is much improved. There is another tweak you need ( 'DirectDrawRenderer' = 'opengl' ), which also improves things.
TheYango
Profile Joined September 2008
United States47024 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:08:47
January 07 2010 21:06 GMT
#14
On January 08 2010 06:01 Aim Here wrote:
TheYango,
Starcraft used to be slow under a default wine install for a long while, though it was fixable with a tweak to an obscure wine registry entry ( 'RenderTargetLockMode = readtex' ). Now, with newer dev versions of wine (note that a lot of distros will default install 1.0.1, a very old version), the registry entry is set correctly by default, so the performance is much improved.

I'm aware of this. I've tried the registry fix, along with a truckload of other fixes in old WINE versions, and I've tried the newer versions of WINE. The problems are generally reduced, but on a fair number of setups, the problems don't actually go away entirely. Again, it's acceptable for a casual game, but if you plan on iCCup-ing to a serious extent, the issues compound themselves enough to be a relevant hindrance to your play.

Bear in mind that I'm not talking about a slowdown to the GAME, but a mouse-lag issue--when you're making quick selections (particularly noticeable with drag-selections), the mouse response in Linux is slightly slower than in Windows, which means that if you're playing a fast-paced game, your selections might be slightly off, or miss several units.
Moderator
MamiyaOtaru
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States1687 Posts
January 07 2010 21:07 GMT
#15
On January 08 2010 05:48 mmp wrote:
OpenGL hasn't seen any major updates in a while, no?

incorrect.

You may have seen that Unigine Heaven demo recently, showing off DX11 and tesselation. They are scheduled to release a Linux version this month using OpenGL 3.2.

Lack of capability isn't a reason not to release games on Linux. The miniscule market is. Most game companies have decided the extra effort is not likely to bring a worthwhile return. I doubt Blizzard will be different. If the SC2 Windows version uses OpenGL there's a good chance it will work well in Wine (and maybe if it uses DX*, like C&C3).

Obviously it's frustrating if it gets ported to OSX and not Linux, but again, marketshare.
theconartist
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
62 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:09:46
January 07 2010 21:07 GMT
#16
FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU i couldn't stop myself

Porting games to linux is no different than porting them to OS X, which is easy for Blizzard because all of their games are very portable well programmed and have excellent openGL support.

But because of this they don't really need to port it either because all of their recent games (warcraft 3 & WoW) run almost perfectly using wine. They could even easily outsource the making of the linux installer to a company like Codeweavers or TransGaming to make a nice official linux installer for it.

Companies like EPIC, iD and s2 make linux versions of their game because it's fairly simple because they use good programming practices. Blizzard is similar in that respect so there is nothing unreasonable keeping them from doing it.

Linux user share might be small but not much less of a pea than a mac when compared to windows, and this will only grow with time especially as linux netbooks/android phones sell more and the economy implodes.

p.s.: about that directX vs opengl shit almost everything ive read about it is all of the stuff in the new versions of directX were already supported by openGL and most of the dx10 stuff was new API's etc. to make it better for the developer end of it.
<Patch> You never even hit A, tca <Patch> QQ, sounds like you just suck.
Catch]22
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Sweden2683 Posts
January 07 2010 21:07 GMT
#17
Actually Yango, most people who "have no idea why anyone wouldnt develop for linux" has already heard the arguments, yet choose to ignore them because "linux is teh_BeSt thing ev@r!!11".
Aim Here
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Scotland672 Posts
January 07 2010 21:12 GMT
#18
Okay, I just fired Starcraft up, looking for that mouselag, and I can't see any. At all. That cursor is moving more instantaneously than my eyes can follow, and I'm sure that I'll see the same on the other Linux box with starcraft on it.

Maybe you're doing it wrong, maybe it doesn't work on certain computers, maybe my eyes are too slow. Anyways, since wine doesn't cost any money, people can always try it out for themselves.

TheYango
Profile Joined September 2008
United States47024 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:20:21
January 07 2010 21:15 GMT
#19
On January 08 2010 06:07 theconartist wrote:
Linux user share might be small but not much less of a pea than a mac when compared to windows, and this will only grow with time especially as linux netbooks/android phones sell more and the economy implodes.

Again, the difference isn't the size of the userbase, but how much of the userbase would actually not buy the product unless there was a Linux version. As I said before, most Linux users who care enough about their games to want Starcraft 2 will either run it in WINE or dual-boot Windows. The number of customers they actually LOSE by not making a Linux version is almost zero. Compare that to Mac users, which 1) already expect a Mac version, set by past precedent from Blizzard, and 2) have a larger number of users that flat-out refuse to use Windows, and the profits lost by eschewing a Mac version of Starcraft 2 are much greater.

On January 08 2010 06:12 Aim Here wrote:
Maybe you're doing it wrong, maybe it doesn't work on certain computers, maybe my eyes are too slow. Anyways, since wine doesn't cost any money, people can always try it out for themselves.

This is my point. I've run the game on a computer where the game works out of the box without a hitch, and I've run the game on a computer that won't stop having issues, regardless of what I try. The nature of ANY fix for such compat issues on Linux is that they're system-dependent.
On January 08 2010 06:12 Aim Here wrote:
Maybe you're doing it wrong, maybe it doesn't work on certain computers, maybe my eyes are too slow. Anyways, since wine doesn't cost any money, people can always try it out for themselves.

Well, of course. I just figured that the issues are worth mentioning, seeing as someone ought to know it's not 100% guaranteed to work before they wipe out their Windows install.
Moderator
Saturnize
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States2473 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-07 21:26:28
January 07 2010 21:22 GMT
#20
I have a hard enough time trying to run BW on linux. If anyone knows how you would be the greatest person in the world.

Whenever i run Starcraft on WINE it runs as if i have 32 MB of RAM.
"Time to put the mustard on the hotdog. -_-"
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