Guild Wars 2

@Elusive

The thing is that you’re approaching Unix from a Windows point of view. You see Linux as a certain specific distribution and its internals. But in fact, it’s exactly what Linux (and Unix in general) is not. It’s a set of standards with different internals. Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, OpenBSD – any Unix you take will have the same APIs available. You don’t care what’s inside. In fact, you shouldn’t care what’s inside. Just like DirectX.

Graphics? OpenGL. Sound? OpenAL. Multithreading? POSIX threads. Network? Unix sockets. Input? Well, there’s no standard for input. But there is SDL, which does it. It also does windowing, sound, font loading, you name it.

Put it all together, and you’ll have an extremely portable (even Windows!) software stack that basically does everything DirectX can do in a cross platform way on any system that is supported by SDL. And…

SDL supports Linux, Windows, Windows CE, BeOS, MacOS, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, BSD/OS, Solaris, IRIX, and QNX. The code contains support for AmigaOS, Dreamcast, Atari, AIX, OSF/Tru64, RISC OS, SymbianOS, and OS/2, but these are not officially supported.

There you go. Also, regarding the ‘translation layer’ part: it is the original Windows executable wrapped in a third party wrapper that translates all of WinAPI. And let’s just say it’s not really a good idea. If they do a native port, even with a translation layer (but just for DirectX calls), it’ll run way better.

degovernator.9043:

I loved gw… can no longer play as i do not have windows anymore… only linux (mint), gw neeeddds a client for linux users! i would purchase the game again if it were more available on linux. Installed succesfully using wine… but during patch i guess it is? it always crashes and im only able to get about 1/10000th of total files.
I miss my game

If you’re talking about the original Guild Wars, I strongly recommend installing PlayOnLinux with Synaptic then installing Guild Wars from PlayOnLinux. I had to do some tweaking but I eventually got everything but the tar lakes in Ascalon and the Guild Hall to look right. I even got 60+ fps. You can even play Guild Wars 2 but, as other people here pointed out, the frame rate is atrocious.

@Elusive
Please, let’s not start all this again. You failed yout purpose of being objective pretty fast, and I’d rather not to point out the reasons to avoid another 5 pages of Linux vs Windows debate. To put it shortly, you belive that we like Linux better because we “don’t know how to use Windows”, and we probably think the same about your reasons for not liking Linux. Big deal, let’s not start it over again, PLEASE.

You wanna be objective? Please, fetch me a list of originally win32 native programs which can run on other OS without any layers (of course, I mean that they can be compiled and run on other OSs, not that they have some “universal binaries”, just pointing this out.), then do the same about linux-native and osx-native programs. For bonus credits, find a list of programs that run only on a specific linux distro, and that can’t run on the others. Then, we can objectively talk about standardization.

degovernator.9043:

I loved gw… can no longer play as i do not have windows anymore… only linux (mint), gw neeeddds a client for linux users! i would purchase the game again if it were more available on linux. Installed succesfully using wine… but during patch i guess it is? it always crashes and im only able to get about 1/10000th of total files.
I miss my game

For the record, know one knows why this happens, but you can just keep restarting the insaller, and the game will be finished downloading eventually.

@others: I know that I (for one) am practically required to use linux at my job (I do physics research. The linux terminal is my best friend). I also know that others are practically required to use Windows. That being said, this is not a thread about which OS is better. It is a thread to help Anet see the need for a linux port (or at the very least, a good WINE-compatable version). Windows is big, but so is Linux. There is no reason to face them against each other in this context—specifically because Windows already has a stable version of the game. That being said, there is a lot of research that could be done for valid ways to get this port up and running.

+1 for a native linux GW2 client. I would even buy a second account.

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

:)

also i know that i can just restart client, but i dont have time to sit here and restart gw2 client every 5 minutes. its just too often and too slow to be plausible for me.
unless anyone has any suggestions for patching without the client crashing…
GW 2 could really use linux client

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

@degovernator

There’s a way to fix this: make the whole process automatic! How so? Create a script for it! Here’s what to do:

1. Locate where Guild Wars 2 is installed on your system (usually is in /home/yourusename/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Guild Wars 2)
2. Open a text editor and write this into it (be sure to put in the right game path, and don’t forget the "):
#! /usr/bin/env bash

cd “/home/yourusename/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Guild Wars 2”
while true; do
WINEDEBUG=-all wine Gw2.exe -dx9single -image &
sleep 600
wineserver -k
sync
done
3. save it on your desktop as “GW2_update”
4. open a terminal, and run “chmod a+x ~/Desktop/GW2_update” (without ")
5. still from the terminal, type “./Desktop/GW2_update” (without ")

This script will run Guild Wars 2, then will shut it down after 10 minutes (regardless if it crashed or not), and then will start it again. It won’t know when GW2 will have completed the download, so you’ll have to stop it manually. To do so, simply press ctrl+c in the terminal you’ve launched it from.
I hope this helps :p

Bushido.2184:

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

I also have to hand it to you on that one. That is a sound strategy, and would be plausable. That kind of brings it into a whole different light.

On a slightly different note, of which I do not know the answer, has anyone checked out the GW2.dat file? It’s certainly no Elder Scrolls or other game that was content-port friendly. GW2 also ignores half the settings/instructions DirectX sends it. It’s certainly a creature of its own. I don’t know if the way Anet wrote it makes it more Windows-dependent or less Windows-dependent than other titles. Is anyone familiar with its build design?

And I apologize, I stand corrected. This is NOT a Windows vs. Linux forum. It’s a Linux forum; Windows isn’t the issue. This stands independent of Windows. I think I understand the distinction of what a “Native Linux” client really would be.

Elusive.9481:

Bushido.2184:

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

I also have to hand it to you on that one. That is a sound strategy, and would be plausable. That kind of brings it into a whole different light.

On a slightly different note, of which I do not know the answer, has anyone checked out the GW2.dat file? It’s certainly no Elder Scrolls or other game that was content-port friendly. GW2 also ignores half the settings/instructions DirectX sends it. It’s certainly a creature of its own. I don’t know if the way Anet wrote it makes it more Windows-dependent or less Windows-dependent than other titles. Is anyone familiar with its build design?

And I apologize, I stand corrected. This is NOT a Windows vs. Linux forum. It’s a Linux forum; Windows isn’t the issue. This stands independent of Windows. I think I understand the distinction of what a “Native Linux” client really would be.

GW2.dat (and a lot of the stuff inside) has been succesfully reverse engineered. If someone was to write an unofficial client, the main problem will be the protocol and the implications of using it. Re: DirectX: GW2 uses threading somewhat agressively, so it might just be using this data on a different thread. I’m not too sure, I haven’t messed with it too much. Or maybe it’s just some dark optimization voodoo.

Bushido.2184:

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

Don’t target a specific distro. Support a specific distro. You can say ‘we only test it on Ubuntu’, but don’t make it so it only runs on Ubuntu.

MehWhatever.1248:

Bushido.2184:

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

Don’t target a specific distro. Support a specific distro. You can say ‘we only test it on Ubuntu’, but don’t make it so it only runs on Ubuntu.

And yet that’s how it usually ends up. It’s impossible to support all distros. So either you choose, and get the wrath of all other distro fanboys, or leave linux and get the wrath of all linux fanboys. There’s no winning scenario here for anyone. The costs vs profits on Linux are not in Linux’ favor. Last time I checked, a.net was still a for-profit company.

marnick.4305:

MehWhatever.1248:

Bushido.2184:

degovernator.9043:

If that’s the case, then make gw2 for any one linux distro. i would be happy to get any linux and play gw2, as opposed to buying windows (again). Besides alot of linux distros use similar builds, any one with sense should be able to make it work if a-net just makes a basic distro for one of the most popular ones.

Yup, target a specific distro. The Steam beta was supposedly Ubuntu only, but in a few hours after released it was already up and running on Arch Linux, and it’s not even Debian-based. The community is a community full of hackers and will gladly make it work on their own distro one way or another; the community does that work for you.

Don’t target a specific distro. Support a specific distro. You can say ‘we only test it on Ubuntu’, but don’t make it so it only runs on Ubuntu.

And yet that’s how it usually ends up. It’s impossible to support all distros. So either you choose, and get the wrath of all other distro fanboys, or leave linux and get the wrath of all linux fanboys. There’s no winning scenario here for anyone. The costs vs profits on Linux are not in Linux’ favor. Last time I checked, a.net was still a for-profit company.

Steam.

marnick.4305:

And yet that’s how it usually ends up. It’s impossible to support all distros. So either you choose, and get the wrath of all other distro fanboys, or leave linux and get the wrath of all linux fanboys. There’s no winning scenario here for anyone. The costs vs profits on Linux are not in Linux’ favor. Last time I checked, a.net was still a for-profit company.

I run Archlinux. Steam was ported to Ubuntu. The moment I realized the steam beta was out, I looked for it in the AUR and was somewhat suprised to see it there, waiting for download. That being said, there are ways to get .deb files working on my system. Some of the titles in the humble indie bundle, for example, also often port to Ubuntu, and I have found ways around that.

The point is that Anet should not target older linux users. Those guys typically know what they are doing and can fend for themselves. Newer linux users, though, are sometimes somewhat mystified by the terminal and might not be able to port the game to their distribution. That being said, the distribution with the most new linux users is Ubuntu. I am positive that if they port it there, all the other distributions will see it in their own repositories very soon after.

Now, your point about the cost vs profit might be correct if Anet tries to completely re-write their DirectX code; however, a simple cedega port might not be so bad for them. Though this is sub-optimal for us gamers, it is precisely what they did with mac, and we should expect no better than that. That being said, this thread is littered with links to articles explaining how linux users definitely pay more for their games than mac users—and the game was already ported to mac.

Anyways, thanks for reading.

You guys are arguing about what distro they should target like ANet decided to port the game after all.
Did I miss some good news ?

kamek.9538:

You guys are arguing about what distro they should target like ANet decided to port the game after all.
Did I miss some good news ?

sigh unfortunately not. We are just trying to prove to any stray developer that might be perusing this thread that the sheer number of distributions should not deter them from developing for linux. That is all. They still haven’t said one way or another whether they will do it or not.

I’d just like to chime in that one of the few reasons I keep Windows around at all any more is to play Guild Wars 2. I’d love to ditch it.

Also would like to point out (if it hasn’t been pointed out yet) that a lot of (if not all of) the work that would go into making a native Linux client would make a much more solid base for the Mac client than cider.

I love this game – I’d love even more to play it on an OS that doesn’t make me spit nails

Bump! Ubuntu is the next big thing, and Valve knows it, everyone knows it, Anet just have to admit it.
Put it on there, and the community will do the rest!
Yes, yes yes! Everyone would be so happy
hugs the penguin posted further up

What we all must remember is that more people playing the game, leads to more people playing the game. So, catching all the Linux users (who currently do not have a single option when it comes to quality MMORPG (Anet would be the first, so the whole Linux community would be all over it)), would lead to more publicity, more people talking about the game, leading to more people playing the game ON ALL platforms, there would be an increase in Windows- Mac- AND Linux users.
How can we not want that? I want that! Do you want that?
Instead of bashing this proposal, just “vote yes” and make everyone better off!

lmao MAC OS X is NOTHING like linux. Its a BSD based kernel. It has a drastically different scheduler. Its a completely different OS. Its as different as Windows NT and OS2 Warp. The graphic libraries are nothing like those in Linux. A port of this game to Linux wouldn’t be any easier already having a prot for OS X.

Personally Linux doesn’t get much support because everyone that runs linux also runs windows. Also the ATI and NVidia linux drivers have always been just an after thought and perform very poorly under heavy 3D-type loads. Even if they ported this game to Linux you wouldn’t be happy with the performance.

I use Linux 100% at work as a developer. I use it 100% of the time at home except for gaming. So I run Windows 7 and with VMWare I run my linux VM’s for work. One I use for writing/compiling code, the other runs an Oracle database and some other components. I can run both Linux VM’s, including having the database up and running, and play this game at the same time with no problems… This on a rig that is now 4 years old.

Oh and by the way Ubuntu is dying. Its fallen from the most popular distro every year for the past 3 years.. mainly because no one can stand their new window manager.

Ubuntu has always been the “linux for noobs” and most people move on once they get more skilled with the OS.

Yeah, move on to… Linux Mint (first place on distrowatch, but decreasing, while Ubuntu is actually increasing). Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu… so putting it on Ubuntu would still be the best choice. And the fact that Ubuntu is “for noobs” is even a better reason to put it on Ubuntu, it makes it so that the noobs can also manage to play the game, and those elite people that you talk about, well, they are the community that will take the game and make it available on Arch or Fedora or what not.
Ubuntu is the best choice, whether you like it or not.
Edit: think of it this way, once they get more skilled with the OS and move on, do you think they will have a problem figuring out how to install GW2 on whatever they choose to move to? I don’t think so. And if you are a noob on Ubuntu, would you have a problem getting the game if it was not really on Ubuntu? Yes you would. Therefore, if it was on Ubuntu, it would be available for everyone, the noobs and the elites.

Problem with Mint is their arrogance and Google hate. Not to mention a multitude of quirky things with the distro. I wasn’t able to use Mint as my work desktop, just too many issues, even after ripping out a lot of their poorly engineered packages like firefox and java. Honestly I’m a little disappointed in the current Linux distros.. Things seemed to be picking up for all distro’s and now the last 2 years most have gotten sloppy.

And Fedora.. omg.. have no idea what happened to that project but you have to go back 3 releases just to get something quasi-stable.

Reciprocity.8021:

lmao MAC OS X is NOTHING like linux. Its a BSD based kernel. It has a drastically different scheduler. Its a completely different OS. Its as different as Windows NT and OS2 Warp. The graphic libraries are nothing like those in Linux. A port of this game to Linux wouldn’t be any easier already having a prot for OS X.

Wrooooong. OS X is POSIX compliant, it uses OpenGL and OpenAL, which are all open and cross platform standards by design.

Reciprocity.8021:

Personally Linux doesn’t get much support because everyone that runs linux also runs windows. Also the ATI and NVidia linux drivers have always been just an after thought and perform very poorly under heavy 3D-type loads. Even if they ported this game to Linux you wouldn’t be happy with the performance.

Wroooooong. For example, Left 4 Dead 2 actually runs faster on Linux .

Reciprocity.8021:

I use Linux 100% at work as a developer. I use it 100% of the time at home except for gaming. So I run Windows 7 and with VMWare I run my linux VM’s for work. One I use for writing/compiling code, the other runs an Oracle database and some other components. I can run both Linux VM’s, including having the database up and running, and play this game at the same time with no problems… This on a rig that is now 4 years old.

Not sure where you’re going for with that. That’s not because Windows is so cool, it’s because Linux is lightweight, and VMWare adds little overhead.

Reciprocity.8021:

Oh and by the way Ubuntu is dying. Its fallen from the most popular distro every year for the past 3 years.. mainly because no one can stand their new window manager.

People move to Mint and other similar distributions. The fact that Ubuntu is dying doesn’t mean Linux as a whole is dying.

Reciprocity.8021:

Ubuntu has always been the “linux for noobs” and most people move on once they get more skilled with the OS.

Data or GTKO.

Reciprocity.8021:

Problem with Mint is their arrogance and Google hate.

If you mean the fact that they use Yahoo search, that’s because Yahoo pays them to use their search. You can switch to Google in a single click, and the developers earn their (much needed) money that way.

Reciprocity.8021:

Not to mention a multitude of quirky things with the distro. I wasn’t able to use Mint as my work desktop, just too many issues, even after ripping out a lot of their poorly engineered packages like firefox and java.

And yet you haven’t described a single one in detail. I’m also going to assume you didn’t report bugs.

Reciprocity.8021:

Honestly I’m a little disappointed in the current Linux distros.. Things seemed to be picking up for all distro’s and now the last 2 years most have gotten sloppy.

And Fedora.. omg.. have no idea what happened to that project but you have to go back 3 releases just to get something quasi-stable.

Same here. Lots of personal bias, no data.

Honestly, I have always believed that the distros broke down into three basic trees, the Debian tree (headed by Ubuntu), the Fedora tree, and the Arch tree. As far as newer distros are concerned, the only one that has impressed me at all has been Majaro linux, which I only found out about this past week. It does everything I would want in a nooby distro and more. If they don’t port to ubuntu, they should port to Arch (or Majaro, I guess). Tar files can be opened by everyone.

Also. If Anet ever does port to linux, I might also request (somewhat humbly) a penguin pet and/or minipet.

+2 for Guild Wars 2 Linux Client (me and my father), for me the only pain that I have is the multicore support in Wine, in WvW is a little problem, but is playable, around 15-20fps, again, please port Guild Wars to Linux

Leios.8965:

Honestly, I have always believed that the distros broke down into three basic trees, the Debian tree (headed by Ubuntu), the Fedora tree, and the Arch tree. As far as newer distros are concerned, the only one that has impressed me at all has been Majaro linux, which I only found out about this past week. It does everything I would want in a nooby distro and more. If they don’t port to ubuntu, they should port to Arch (or Majaro, I guess). Tar files can be opened by everyone.

Also. If Anet ever does port to linux, I might also request (somewhat humbly) a penguin pet and/or minipet.

Don’t want to go into detail (we don’t need a distro flamewar here in addition to the Windows one, right?), but Manjaro’s maintainers have proved themselves to be extremely incompetent multiple times in the past. If you want an Arch respin that’s easier to install, check out Bridge Linux. I’d also suggest Sabayon, which is basically Gentoo with binary packages (but you still can use ebuilds/USE flags/all the Gentoo stuff for packages you want to modify).

Reciprocity.8021:

lmao MAC OS X is NOTHING like linux. Its a BSD based kernel. It has a drastically different scheduler. Its a completely different OS. Its as different as Windows NT and OS2 Warp. The graphic libraries are nothing like those in Linux. A port of this game to Linux wouldn’t be any easier already having a prot for OS X.

I’m going to say this as a former FreeBSD and OpenSolaris user. With the exception of applications that need certain kernel-specific calls, It’s really hard to find any application written for Linux that couldn’t be compiled on FreeBSD or Solaris. Sometimes a little patching is required (and even I can do that myself, most of the times), but it’s surely faster and easier than rewriting ex-novo such applications for another OS (chich mostly uses the same libraries, by the way). That said, since OSX actually does use OpenGL (am I wrong here?) and it’s kinda POSIX compliant (I don’t really trust Apple about this, but I kinda hate them, so whatever), I doubt that porting the game to Linux wouldn’t do any good to the Mac port itself. Maybe the client and the engine will need a little patching and tweaking… But heck, the whole DirectX-to-OpenGL issue would be already fixed! And there’s even a tiny itsy bitsy little chance that there won’t be the need of such huge patches to make the Linux port run nicely on Mac!

Reciprocity.8021:

Personally Linux doesn’t get much support because everyone that runs linux also runs windows. Also the ATI and NVidia linux drivers have always been just an after thought and perform very poorly under heavy 3D-type loads. Even if they ported this game to Linux you wouldn’t be happy with the performance.

Actually… Valve’s been working with both ATI and nVidia to improve their drivers, using Left 4 Dead 2 (and probably other games) as a test run. They’ve been doing that for a while actually, they actually already added a few nice functions to nVidia drivers that you can already see in the latest releases.

Reciprocity.8021:

I use Linux 100% at work as a developer. I use it 100% of the time at home except for gaming. So I run Windows 7 and with VMWare I run my linux VM’s for work. One I use for writing/compiling code, the other runs an Oracle database and some other components.I can run both Linux VM’s, including having the database up and running, and play this game at the same time with no problems… This on a rig that is now 4 years old.

Well, that’s such a great feat. Mind explaining how to setup a working VMWare enviroment, and help every single Linux user who want to play Guild Wars 2 without dual booting how to do that step by step?
Really, that’s not viable for newbies, they tend to screw up easy things, there’s no chance they could handle virtualization well! They’d give up after 20 mins and go back to dual booting… Without somebody guiding them step by step, at least.

MehWhatever.1248:

Leios.8965:

Honestly, I have always believed that the distros broke down into three basic trees, the Debian tree (headed by Ubuntu), the Fedora tree, and the Arch tree. As far as newer distros are concerned, the only one that has impressed me at all has been Majaro linux, which I only found out about this past week. It does everything I would want in a nooby distro and more. If they don’t port to ubuntu, they should port to Arch (or Majaro, I guess). Tar files can be opened by everyone.

Also. If Anet ever does port to linux, I might also request (somewhat humbly) a penguin pet and/or minipet.

Don’t want to go into detail (we don’t need a distro flamewar here in addition to the Windows one, right?), but Manjaro’s maintainers have proved themselves to be extremely incompetent multiple times in the past. If you want an Arch respin that’s easier to install, check out Bridge Linux. I’d also suggest Sabayon, which is basically Gentoo with binary packages (but you still can use ebuilds/USE flags/all the Gentoo stuff for packages you want to modify).

Hm. Thanks for the info. I still use Arch on my machine, so I guess I missed some of the negative aspects of manjaro. Really, I was just looking for a good distribution to suggest to new users.

If anyone could find me a link to a step-by-step-detailed guide on how to get GW2 run on my Linux box with the same fps as I get in Windows, then hey, GIEV!!1
I am even willing to help out with writing the guide, I can provide you with insight on how it should be written for a noob. Because I can look at it from a noob’s perspective and ask questions to things an elite user would find obvious (I guess).
Edit: So far I have only managed to get about 1/3 of the fps I have in Windows, trying both crossovergames and Wine.

Shahrizai

If anyone could find me a link to a step-by-step-detailed guide on how to get GW2 run on my Linux box with the same fps as I get in Windows, then hey, GIEV!!1

Here’s the easiest how-to: you can’t
Main issue is the lack of proper support for multithreaded rendering in WINE.
The best you can do right now is to use a special PPA on Ubuntu, but it requires an recent nvidia card to take advantage of it: https://launchpad.net/~foresto/+archive/winepatched/
The most painless installation is still with PlayOnLinux with they patched 1.5.28 WINE version.

Oh and yeah, Anet, a proper Linux client would be awesome. I’d gladly donate to a Kickstarter project for that.
Or even sparing some time to help the WINE devs with multithreaded support would be really cool.

sed ‘s/they patch/their patch/g’

Nihzu.6352:

Oh and yeah, Anet, a proper Linux client would be awesome. I’d gladly donate to a Kickstarter project for that.

And this! +1 for that!

+1 x 10^infinite
For a Linux Client! I’d donate the cost of the game over again, if I were guaranteed a Linux Client for my current GW2 Account.

I would play the game more if it had a Linux client.

Kebaa: You only have one alternative: Champions of Regnum on Steam.
But it is crap and old, so it is not really an alternative.
There are no alternatives.
Simply put, there are no proper MMORPGs on Linux.

But according to Phoronix, Blizzard is making a native Linux game, and they apparently already have a Linux version of WoW. So it is likely that WoW is the one in the rumors. So perhaps Blizzard will be the ones chewing the cake before Anet.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTI2ODE

kebaa.5147:

1) anyone knows how to delete my account?
without a native linux client i’m not able to play guild wars 2 properly (even with wine). and using windows os or directx —> NO WAY!

2) anyone knows a good native linux mmorpg?
i like playing guild wars 2. but i hate using microsoft or apple software. so i need alternatives to guild wars 2.

https://en.support.guildwars2.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9053/session/
That should be a link to how to get a refund. That being said, Anet has made it pretty clear that Guild Wars 2 is a Windows-only game. Depending on how many hours you have logged into the game, though, they might give you your money back (also depending on where you bought it from and such).

As far as MMO’s that work on linux… Really the best options are WINE games, like Guild Wars 1 and World of Warcraft—both of whichwork quite well.

Best of luck!

MRA.4758:

US scientists discovered that any game with a Linux client is at least 10% more cool than the next leading brand.

~MRA

lol

~~~~
IN OVERALL response to this thread, you can always stop being stubborn and expect a company to invest millions to satisfy a 1% market share (yes they are noisy but still 1%) and just dual boot Windows, its not like anyone pays for Windows these days who has half a brain. Which I do not have as I paid for it.

lets focus on important stuff rather then linux

TheLaughingMan.4320:

IN OVERALL response to this thread, you can always stop being stubborn and expect a company to invest millions to satisfy a 1% market share (yes they are noisy but still 1%) and just dual boot Windows, its not like anyone pays for Windows these days who has half a brain. Which I do not have as I paid for it.

True. We might be stubborn, but so is Anet. The linux market is booming right now, and linux gamers are willing to pay for good games. I know that within my own social circle, 10 potential players are not playing because there is no linux port and the WINE port did not turn out as expected. On top of that, there are few good MMO’s for linux-users to choose from, which means there is very little supply and this thread, if anything, should prove that there is demand. It only makes sense for Anet to make a port.

And for the record, it’s not about dual-booting. It’s not even about the price of Windows or the company’s shady market-schemes. It’s about the linux community. It won’t cost millions, and we are more than 1%. In the gaming world, we consistently rival mac as a development platform, and it will cost the exact same price, using the Cider’s older brother, Cedega. True, Cider/Cedega are not “ture” ports, but I, personally, don’t care. The fact is that Anet is supporting Mac and turning their back to linux, and that hurts.

There is so much potential in the linux market, and it is figuratively one step away. That’s why we’re making a fuss.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

kebaa.5147:

@ [… just dual boot Windows …]
sorry, i’m no opportunist. i’m using / programing for linux, cause i’m loving it. i love the idea of free software and open source code so anyone can contribute. it’s not about being cool or whatever, it’s about being myself.

I’M NO MARKET, AT FIRST I AM A HUMAN.

@ Shahrizai and Leios
thnx for the reply

i found an alternative to gw2: ryzom (http://dev.ryzom.com/projects/ryzom/wiki). it’s not that good, but also not that bad. it uses opengl and it’s native on linux.

So your problem is you cannot be yourself by dual booting windows, hence you won’t play gw2?

I really like homebrew’d console systems, why don’t I ask sony to put out the next FF game for my homebrew console system as well? I use it to program and I like the idea, its really cool, so Sony should publish for it as well!!

TheLaughingMan.4320:

So your problem is you cannot be yourself by dual booting windows, hence you won’t play gw2?

That’s not entirely inaccurate, actually. In all honestly, booting Windows takes so long and is so distasteful to me that I cannot enjoy anything while running it. It is slow and buggy. I’m not saying that linux is without it’s problems, but I’ve fully customized my machine—and am still in the process of doing so. On top of that, my job practically requires me to use linux, meaning any time spent on Windows is automatically wasted time. I feel most linux users echo this sentiment. Windows is not worth it.

Really, the whole system is broken. Why would developers use DirectX, when OpenGL is at least on par, if not better, and works on mac, linux, and Windows? Why should gamers have to bend over backwards to give their money to corporations that do not even support them back? Why even try to customize your computer, if it only means you will be slapped in the face?

Why should we support a system that has a clearly superior alternative?

Also, though I somewhat agree with your homebrew statement, what we are asking for is different, simply because the machine we are using is not solely for the purpose of gaming. It’s a computer, for pete’s sake! I use it for internet, writing, reading, programming and communicating (and more) along with gaming. If I have to stop all of the above just to play one game, I would consider that a bad trade-off.

Thanks for reading.

TheLaughingMan.4320:

IN OVERALL response to this thread, you can always stop being stubborn and expect a company to invest millions to satisfy a 1% market share (yes they are noisy but still 1%) and just dual boot Windows, its not like anyone pays for Windows these days who has half a brain. Which I do not have as I paid for it.

This kind of answers always boggles my mind…
It’s almost as if windows users would be bothered by the existence of a Linux client. Why is that? How does this affect you?
I’ll tell you how it could affect you: in a really good way. Because you have everything to win from microsoft having serious competition. We couldn’t care less, most of the code for Linux is free of charge and open source, we can grab the source and compile it if we wish, distributions just make it much more convenient.
On the other hand, windows is the sole property of a for-profit entity. Competition would mean they’d have to make sure they can’t get away with MEs and Vistas in order to remain relevant. For you as a consumer, that means better products, lower prices, etc. Who wouldn’t want that?

Now, about that 1%… Ok first of all, have you looked at how that data is collected or simply accepted it at face value? Let me ask you this: how are several computers sitting behind a router, sharing a single public IP, accounted for? How about dual-boot machines?
Though you are probably correct about the install base of desktop Linux systems being much lower than windows. Even so, does it matter? Since we’re on the subject of statistics, I have some for you: Total sales from the Humble Indie Bundle
Total revenue linked to Linux users has been between 10-25% constantly, the average sales being three times as high as that of windows users, now THIS is relevant to game companies. That supposed 1% market share has money they are willing to spend on games.
And I am willing to spend money on the Trade Post as long as ANet releases a Linux client, or at least acknowledges Linux users. (hint hint)

Edit: where did you get the idea it cost millions to port a game engine?

Would it help if we said please? Please give us a native Linux client for Guild Wars 2.

A native client of GW2 would be a dream come true.

Reciprocity.8021:

Oh and by the way Ubuntu is dying…

lol … and if we ask you.. your info will come probably from distrowatch ot other similar sites, and with that sentence you probably don’t know how those sites get their stats, i not going to enter in this debate although is really curious the way is Valve suporting a Linux distro who is going down, anyway, some fresh news here for Linux people:

Logitech Begins Supporting Linux Users
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTM3NDk

As a curious note Logitech has never supported officially Linux OS, so definitely something is moving on video games towards Linux.

Have a nice day…

TheLaughingMan.4320:

So your problem is you cannot be yourself by dual booting windows, hence you won’t play gw2?

I really like homebrew’d console systems, why don’t I ask sony to put out the next FF game for my homebrew console system as well? I use it to program and I like the idea, its really cool, so Sony should publish for it as well!!

We all should start spreading the word, “homebrewed” now means an OS with almost the same market share of Apple, and used by NASA and many nations’ governments worldwide. Also, “homebrewed” is a product that is able to keep a few companies (which are even rivals) worldwide alive and still making money (Red Hat/Canonical anyone?). I wonder why my homebrewed toaster isn’t making me earn any money or followers :\

That said… Please, stop trolling. Once again, judging on what you’ve said so far, you have neither any data nor any knowledge on the subject to back up what you say. While I agree with you that kebaa is being quite extremist deleting his GW2 account, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the right to do such a thing. Maybe this can be hard to understand for you, but for some people GW2 isn’t a faith, but just a common, replaceable game. Many people already stopped playing it because they didn’t like it for many reason, why should “it doesn’t run well on my OS” shouldn’t be a valid one?

So, once again, I’m asking everyone here to stop feeding the trolls. Also, to everyone who did a +1 for a Linux client: we should start using the report button altogether. I mean, yeah, everyone has the right to post what they think, but these kids here are just plain trolling us, trying to look smart without knowing anything on the subject at all…

i would rather see more content rather then a new client for those 3 extra players

wars.2083:

i would rather see more content rather then a new client for those 3 extra players

qft

I lol when linux users say their OS is superior… Sorry but Directx is the dominant library for developing games aimed at a mass market, and unless a company can afford to muck about on something that will not make them much money compared to expenses, don’t hold your breath.

wars.2083:

i would rather see more content rather then a new client for those 3 extra players

The engine is mostly made by programmers. The new content is mostly made by designers and artists. The engine needs to be ported. The content does not.