Crytek Announces Official Linux Support Ahead Of GDC

[Zeven]

Source. Star Citizen, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and more are now pretty much confirmed for Linux.

[Noxvayl]

That is awesome news. I look forward to Linux getting better support and becoming as easy to find application install files for as Windows. I think getting more high profile games supporting Linux will be a big step forward. What I find frustrating at the moment is that a lot of software that supports Linux requires terminal to install, why they can't use an installer package that automatically unpacks and runs the correct commands I don't know.

I've got Windows 8.1 for free from my University so I'm not in a hurry to move to Linux.

[Zeven]

That is awesome news. I look forward to Linux getting better support and becoming as easy to find application install files for as Windows. I think getting more high profile games supporting Linux will be a big step forward. What I find frustrating at the moment is that a lot of software that supports Linux requires terminal to install, why they can't use an installer package that automatically unpacks and runs the correct commands I don't know.

I've got Windows 8.1 for free from my University so I'm not in a hurry to move to Linux.

There's no need to find application installers like in Windows because the stuff you seek is all in the package manager. Instead of going from website to website, hunting for whatever software you need like in Windows, you just look in the package manager, install it, done. It's all quite centralised, unlike in Windows. There is absolutely no reason to use the terminal if you don't want to. Manjaro is a perfect example of this. What distro have you been using? Doesn't sound like it implements the KISS principle whatsoever.

Regarding the announcement, it is indeed awesome news. Valve is doing a phenomenal job with all the support it is conjuring. Nvidia's and Intel's drivers are equal in performance to their Windows counterparts, and AMD is getting there as well. A year ago, Steam had no Linux games, now it has hundreds. CryEngine, arguably the most advanced game engine around, now has official Linux support. Things are shaping up like nobody could have imagined.

[Noxvayl]

@ Zeven

I've been using Ubuntu and found it difficult to install FreeFileSync which is not in the software centre as well as Netflix Desktop. I don't find the centralized software centre approach is good because the niche programs people may want to use then become impossible for novices to install. There are more programs I wanted to use on Ubuntu that couldn't be found in the software centre that supported Ubuntu but I can't think of them now because I last used Ubuntu in September 2013.

The most used programs are all there (office, skype, browsers etc) but considering the market share Windows has and the comfort people have with simple install packages I don't see why things should be unnecessarily centralized.

[azrael-]

This is great news for PC gamers everywhere. Can't see Microsoft being too happy about this, though. I wonder if and how they might respond to the ever increasing adoption of Linux as a gaming platform. True, Linux still has quite a way to go, but things are definitely heading in the right direction.

BTW, I'd have listed Crytek's press release as the source instead. Can't really get more official than that.

[Zeven]

@ Zeven

I've been using Ubuntu and found it difficult to install FreeFileSync which is not in the software centre as well as Netflix Desktop. I don't find the centralized software centre approach is good because the niche programs people may want to use then become impossible for novices to install. There are more programs I wanted to use on Ubuntu that couldn't be found in the software centre that supported Ubuntu but I can't think of them now because I last used Ubuntu in September 2013.

The most used programs are all there (office, skype, browsers etc) but considering the market share Windows has and the comfort people have with simple install packages I don't see why things should be unnecessarily centralized.

Just checked for you and FreeFileSync and Netflix Desktop are both available in Manjaro through the Arch User Repository (AUR). Right click, click Install, install, done. The package manager makes it very easy to install packages and keep them updated because they are all in one place. It's also much more secure than going to potentially dodgy websites and installing potentially dodgy programs that install dodgy toolbars in your web browser or do other dodgy things. It will be difficult for you to find a program available on Linux that is not available to you when using a distro like Arch, or one that is based on Arch like Manjaro.

Nevertheless, the reason you enjoy Windows right now is the reason Valve is so adamant about Linux support i.e. the openness of Windows is an unsure thing. Valve looked at the direction Microsoft is going with Windows 8 and was far from amused. Metro? The Windows Store? The focus on Xbox? Apple makes big bucks through its walled garden which it controls fully. Microsoft wants that too and that is what Valve doesn't like. Better have a completely open platform to run to if things go bad. All this is a discussion for another thread, however.

This is great news for PC gamers everywhere. Can't see Microsoft being too happy about this, though. I wonder if and how they might respond to the ever increasing adoption of Linux as a gaming platform. True, Linux still has quite a way to go, but things are definitely heading in the right direction.

BTW, I'd have listed Crytek's press release as the source instead. Can't really get more official than that.

Considering how Microsoft describes Linux as communism, a cancer, and how it prefers users to pirate Windows rather than use Linux, I have to agree. The reason I didn't link to Crytek's press release is because I would not have known about it had I not been made aware of it through Gaming On Linux. I feel scummy bypassing news sources like that and prefer to give credit where credit is due.

[aidanjt]

@ Zeven

I've been using Ubuntu and found it difficult to install FreeFileSync which is not in the software centre as well as Netflix Desktop. I don't find the centralized software centre approach is good because the niche programs people may want to use then become impossible for novices to install. There are more programs I wanted to use on Ubuntu that couldn't be found in the software centre that supported Ubuntu but I can't think of them now because I last used Ubuntu in September 2013.

The most used programs are all there (office, skype, browsers etc) but considering the market share Windows has and the comfort people have with simple install packages I don't see why things should be unnecessarily centralized.

I'm confused, how is it APT's fault FreeFileSync and NetFlix doesn't make it easy to find a proper .deb package or the simple instructions needed to add their Ubuntu PPA? Lazy/incompetent/confusing packaging is lazy/incompetent/confusing, no matter which platform.

[azrael-]

<SNIP>
The reason I didn't link to Crytek's press release is because I would not have known about it had I not been made aware of it through Gaming On Linux. I feel scummy bypassing news sources like that and prefer to give credit where credit is due.

That's a fair point and I respect your decision.

[Zeven]

After doing some research, it turns out that Mac OS didn't get CryEngine support because Apple is behind on OpenGL support while Linux is not. Even if Crytek wanted to bring CryEngine to Mac OS in all its glory, it couldn't.

The reason I didn't link to Crytek's press release is because I would not have known about it had I not been made aware of it through Gaming On Linux. I feel scummy bypassing news sources like that and prefer to give credit where credit is due.

That's a fair point and I respect your decision.

Thanks, mate. Appreciate it.

[Noxvayl]

I'm confused, how is it APT's fault FreeFileSync and NetFlix doesn't make it easy to find a proper .deb package or the simple instructions needed to add their Ubuntu PPA? Lazy/incompetent/confusing packaging is lazy/incompetent/confusing, no matter which platform.

What does APT stand for? I don't know of that abbreviation.

I don't remember assigning blame for the trouble I had, just mentioned that the programs I wanted to use that support Windows and Linux had issues on Linux and not Windows. I agree that lazy/incompetent/confusing packaging is just that regardless of platform, its just that it tends to occur on Linux more than it does on Windows. I expect that as Linux becomes more mainstream these problems will be addressed.

[azrael-]

What does APT stand for? I don't know of that abbreviation.

I don't remember assigning blame for the trouble I had, just mentioned that the programs I wanted to use that support Windows and Linux had issues on Linux and not Windows. I agree that lazy/incompetent/confusing packaging is just that regardless of platform, its just that it tends to occur on Linux more than it does on Windows. I expect that as Linux becomes more mainstream these problems will be addressed.

I'm fairly certain we're talking about the Advanced Packaging Tool in this context. One of several package distribution/repository tools for Linux.