A client for Linux

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Posted by: Rubykuby.3427

Rubykuby.3427

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.

Dominant != superior. By that standard, Windows XP was the superior operating system no more than a few years ago when clearly Windows 7, OS X and any modern version of Linux were far better than the old hag we call Windows XP.

Whether or not DirectX is better than its competitors, I won’t say, but I had to call out on this erroneous piece of logic.

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Posted by: Drayven.6408

Drayven.6408

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!!

So by your statement, then all PC’s are made for Windows. Instead of being the other way around…. Windows being made for a PC…. Last I looked, a PC is still a PC, no matter what OS is put on it. Microsoft does not make all PC’s and their hardware. However Sony makes their Playstation Consoles to run their internal OS, not the other way around like your Homebrew. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of running Homebrew, but the Sony Consoles are made for their OS, and their OS alone.

PC’s are made so that you can install Windows, Solaris, Unix, DOS, Linux, or any other OS Compatible with the hardware inside a PC. It’s actually the reason Mac moved away from creating its own hardware, and started using Intel, AMD, NVidia, and ATI Hardware.

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

This is simply just an ignorant statement that is made to troll the people who want a Linux Client. Even if you DO actually believe that there are only 3 Linux users throughout this entire game, or even 1% of PC users running Linux, it still doesn’t make it correct. No instead you are far off in your ignorant, non-educated estimates.

I personally support Linux, but do not run it… I wish I could, but unfortunately I am a Gamer, and for now will run a hacked version of Crapdows 7 until ANet releases a GW2 Linux Client. I refuse to Dual-Boot, because I see no reason to have two OS’s for anything other than to say “Hey look I’m cool and can run 2 OS’s”. Also, that being said, I can understand why OTHERS would want to Dual-Boot for reasons other than what I have stated. Some people actually work for the Government, and they use Linux -all- the time. Some people actually work for Corporations, and just about any major corporation out there realizes that Linux is the more secure OS. Thusly, the Government, those Corporations, and many others use Linux for Servers and Desktops. In fact, that is actually how a lot of people make their money too. By being Certified Ethical Hackers, going in and hacking a server, just to show up at a company’s doorstep to show them how they hacked it and what they should do to fix it. In return, most of the time, the server will get setup on Linux, and the “Ethical Hacker” gets paid for their services.

Then to top all of this off… We have the release of the piece of crap called “Windows 8” recently, where companies have to PAY Microsoft before their programs can be listed in the Windows Store. Sooooo, let me get this right…. To be listed as an official program that is installable on Windows, you have to PAY Microsoft? What about those new programmers? Those new companies? Doesn’t Microsoft already make -ENOUGH- money without demanding that everyone pay them more? No thanks… I’d rather pay for my PC and be done with it… I will pay for my software too, but I won’t pay just to be able to install my software, or even pay just so that I can RUN my PC.

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

Re: having to pay MS to get on the Windows Store: I don’t know the terms of that, but Google also has a $25 one time fee that lets you publish on the Play Store. That’s done to prevent people from spamming the store with malware and bad apps, and it works quite well, because it’s not too expressive for pretty much anyone, but expensive enough to think twice before submitting.

You may or may not know me as K900.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

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

It is unfortunately more than 3. Heck, I know 10 just within my own friend-circle at college. Actually, I see roughly 10 times as many Unix machines as Windows machines on a daily basis.

Honestly, though, Guild Wars had/has a proportionately large linux community, and most of them expected Guild Wars 2 to work just as well with WINE. When that wasn’t the case, a significant number of Guild Wars players were upset—and understandably so. With the current semi-surge in linux popularity and the fact that Anet used Cider to make a mac port, most linux users feel abandoned. Basically, if Anet got on this thread and said, “We are looking into the possibility of a linux port,” that would be enough for me.

As a side note: I just created a mesmer asura named “Legless For Linux.” The goal is to get from 0-80 on WINE without wearing armor. I know it’s not going to influence a dev or anything, but I was feeling a bit quixotic and made the character on a whim. I’m only level 13 now and with WINE, I get only 10-20 fps max, so I’m interested to see how it goes. I could look into taking some gameplay videos of my buggy journey if anyone else is interested.

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

maybe it will help, if we all ask anet HERE and also at https://www.facebook.com/GuildWars2 and http://twitter.com/guildwars2/ and https://plus.google.com/111625076038687128618 for a linux client. EVERY DAY or EVERY HOUR. we can call it linuxstorm.

Call it whatever you want, I call it spamming.

You may or may not know me as K900.

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Posted by: Aneirin Cadwall.9126

Aneirin Cadwall.9126

If the public at large knew what computer hobbyists/enthusiasts know about computers, both Apple and Microsoft would be out of business. Random thought, and definitely true.

The only Microsoft product I own right now is Windows 7 Professional. It was a free download thanks to taking a course at a local community college (TestOut’s “CompTIA Linux+ Certification” course). The only reason I bothered to download it is to play Guild Wars 2 at greater than 19 FPS. Not sure what changed since the early beta. Beta clients 1 and 2 ran very well on Linux via WINE… meh.

Give it another 20-30 years. Linux adoption is growing at an exponential rate. It’s funny that the desktop PC is going to be GNU/Linux’s final conquest considering the desktop PC is what it was originally designed for.

Men who achieve some power desire more until they destroy themselves trying to get it.—Turai Ossa
Sanctum of Rall since beta 3. Mesmer since 1070 AE

(edited by Aneirin Cadwall.9126)

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Posted by: marnick.4305

marnick.4305

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.

MSDN subscriptions for the win. Have a job, get 10 legal windows licenses for free, per Windows release starting at win3.11. That’s ten licenses for win8 basic, pro, enterprise and ultimate each.

If I can’t play Guild Wars 2 at work, I won’t work in Guild Wars 2 either.
Delayed content is eventually good. Rushed content is eternally bad. ~ Shigeru Miyamoto

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Posted by: marnick.4305

marnick.4305

If the public at large knew what computer hobbyists/enthusiasts know about computers, both Apple and Microsoft would be out of business. Random thought, and definitely true.

On the other hand, the public at large are not computer hobbyists, which means they don’t have the hundreds of hours required to learn install a basic word processor on a computer, or to dig through hundreds of threads debating Vi and Emacs. Anyone can work with Windows in a matter of minutes. That’s a fact.

Sure you’re right in theory, but if the public at large knew how to make decent clothing, Abercrombie&Fitch would be out of business too. Same goes for McDonald’s if the public knew how to make affordable food. The boon of windows is simplicity. It works out of the box. That’s simply not true for linux.

So let linux be what linux is for … enthousiasts, and let the public at large use something which is made for the public at large… windows. Why try square the circle all the time.

PS: i’m just posting to bumb this thread. If a dev has some spare time and wants to waste it on less than 1% of the gaming population, he should most certainly do so, but it can’t be a priority.

If I can’t play Guild Wars 2 at work, I won’t work in Guild Wars 2 either.
Delayed content is eventually good. Rushed content is eternally bad. ~ Shigeru Miyamoto

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

MSDN subscriptions for the win. Have a job, get 10 legal windows licenses for free, per Windows release starting at win3.11. That’s ten licenses for win8 basic, pro, enterprise and ultimate each.

Free? MSDN subscriptions cost money, even if your employer is the one who’s paying.

On the other hand, the public at large are not computer hobbyists, which means they don’t have the hundreds of hours required to learn install a basic word processor on a computer, or to dig through hundreds of threads debating Vi and Emacs. Anyone can work with Windows in a matter of minutes. That’s a fact.

Oh really? Any Linux distro I’d ever recommend to a beginner comes with a complete office suite. Vi vs Emacs is a long story, and average users need not care.

Edit: I had a Netrunner VM, so here’s some pics about me installing a word processor. It was actually installed, but I removed it beforehand for science.

Sure you’re right in theory, but if the public at large knew how to make decent clothing, Abercrombie&Fitch would be out of business too. Same goes for McDonald’s if the public knew how to make affordable food. The boon of windows is simplicity. It works out of the box. That’s simply not true for linux.

So, I have this laptop. The very ASUS N55SF I’m writing this on. I install Windows 7. Right from the box, fully legal, yada yada. No WiFi, no Bluetooth, no compositing, no external GPU/Optimus support whatsoever, no external subwoofer, no webcam, no SDcard reader, no touchpad gestures, no nothing. Out of the box my kitten . I install Linux Mint. It just works. It just freaking works. WiFi? Check. Bluetooth? Check. Compositing? Check, and it’s smoother than Windows (which is impressive, given X11’s horrible legacy). Optimus? Well, not really, but I can install a program to make it work. With just a few clicks. External subwoofer? Had to turn it up in the mixer, but anyway. Check. Webcam? Check. SDcard reader? Check. Touchpad gestures? Check. That’s a single not working feature, compared to Windows 7’s eight.

So let linux be what linux is for … enthousiasts, and let the public at large use something which is made for the public at large… windows. Why try square the circle all the time.

Yeah, sure. Let’s leave Microsoft without any competition.

You may or may not know me as K900.

(edited by MehWhatever.1248)

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

So, I have this laptop. The very ASUS N55SF I’m writing this on. I install Windows 7. Right from the box, fully legal, yada yada. No WiFi, no Bluetooth, no compositing, no external GPU/Optimus support whatsoever, no external subwoofer, no webcam, no SDcard reader, no touchpad gestures, no nothing. Out of the box my kitten . I install Linux Mint. It just works. It just freaking works. WiFi? Check. Bluetooth? Check. Compositing? Check, and it’s smoother than Windows (which is impressive, given X11’s horrible legacy). Optimus? Well, not really, but I can install a program to make it work. With just a few clicks. External subwoofer? Had to turn it up in the mixer, but anyway. Check. Webcam? Check. SDcard reader? Check. Touchpad gestures? Check. That’s a single not working feature, compared to Windows 7’s eight.

This is completely true, and the same thing happened to me. Getting working ethernet drivers on that installation of windows was not fun at all. Meanwhile, Ubuntu worked/works from a flashdrive on any PC I want. That’s just plain nifty.

The only reason linux is perceived as difficult is because linux-users have to go through the nasty install on their own, while Windows-users have their OS pre-installed. That being said, a fresh linux install is much, much nicer than a fresh Windows install. Once Linux starts becoming pre-installed on PC’s, Windows will probably start to decline in popularity.

By the way: Of all the suggestions on this forums, a linux client (I feel) will definitely earn Guild Wars 2 more money. If Anet cares about that, creating a linux client is the way to go.

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

So, I have this laptop. The very ASUS N55SF I’m writing this on. I install Windows 7. Right from the box, fully legal, yada yada. No WiFi, no Bluetooth, no compositing, no external GPU/Optimus support whatsoever, no external subwoofer, no webcam, no SDcard reader, no touchpad gestures, no nothing. Out of the box my kitten . I install Linux Mint. It just works. It just freaking works. WiFi? Check. Bluetooth? Check. Compositing? Check, and it’s smoother than Windows (which is impressive, given X11’s horrible legacy). Optimus? Well, not really, but I can install a program to make it work. With just a few clicks. External subwoofer? Had to turn it up in the mixer, but anyway. Check. Webcam? Check. SDcard reader? Check. Touchpad gestures? Check. That’s a single not working feature, compared to Windows 7’s eight.

This is completely true, and the same thing happened to me. Getting working ethernet drivers on that installation of windows was not fun at all. Meanwhile, Ubuntu worked/works from a flashdrive on any PC I want. That’s just plain nifty.

The only reason linux is perceived as difficult is because linux-users have to go through the nasty install on their own, while Windows-users have their OS pre-installed. That being said, a fresh linux install is much, much nicer than a fresh Windows install. Once Linux starts becoming pre-installed on PC’s, Windows will probably start to decline in popularity.

By the way: Of all the suggestions on this forums, a linux client (I feel) will definitely earn Guild Wars 2 more money. If Anet cares about that, creating a linux client is the way to go.

Some years ago Linux was pre-installed on store bought PCs, with a GUI interface. There hasn’t been any hint of decline.

Also what kind of hardware were you people using? I installed Windows 7 on my PC, and had zero problems, didn’t even have to install any drivers for any of my hardware, everything was plug and play. There was literally no difference between a new install of Linux Mint, and Windows 7, both worked right out of the box.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

Also what kind of hardware were you people using? I installed Windows 7 on my PC, and had zero problems, didn’t even have to install any drivers for any of my hardware, everything was plug and play. There was literally no difference between a new install of Linux Mint, and Windows 7, both worked right out of the box.

Suffice it to say that there was more than one computer. My brother’s was a Gateway, mine was an Asus, my friends was a Toshiba (along with my grandparents’). Every one of them had some sort of hiccup. I won’t go into the exact problems, but mine was the worst without any way to connect to the internet (even after directly connecting it through ethernet). After those experiences, linux was a dream come true. I will mention, though, that each of these experiences was during an upgrade from Vista to 7.

Regardess, I apologize for the somewhat off-topic post

(edited by Leios.8965)

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Posted by: soulsuke.7913

soulsuke.7913

There was literally no difference between a new install of Linux Mint, and Windows 7, both worked right out of the box.

You mean besides having to search the internet for the latest nVidia/ATI drivers, a firewall, an antivirus, a ram checker/cleaner and other performance tweaking tools, oh, and rebooting 3-4 times to install the huge mass of updates? So simple and “out of the box without efforts” :p

Sorry, but I just had to point that out.

Proud Opera and Debian Sid (unstable) user. And it won’t stop me from playing GW2! :p

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Posted by: Aneirin Cadwall.9126

Aneirin Cadwall.9126

The boon of windows is simplicity. It works out of the box. That’s simply not true for linux.

Right on all points in your post… except for the notion that Linux does not work ‘out of the box.’ Perhaps you haven’t given it a chance in a few years.

Once Linux installed on most people’s computers (I do this a lot for friends and family), it works brilliantly without any configuration. Various Linux distribution releases since 2008 (or so) have actually been easier to install than any version of Windows ever was — and I date back to Windows 3.11, when I was 12 or so. :P

A later post suggested that Linux is considered difficult by novice users because they have to install it themselves… and I concur. That’s often the only scary part of recommending Linux to someone (and again, you have to do the same thing with installing Windows — and it’s actually less clear about where to install Windows without destroying data).

I always have to help them understand partitioning and help them to avoid destroying all of their data (photos, videos, documents, etc.) Other than that, it’s flawless.

…and before anyone asks (via PM) again about which Linux distro is best for new users… any of them. The user experience is dependent on the desktop environment. Some prefer GNOME 2, some GNOME 3, some Unity, some KDE, etc.

I usually go with Kubuntu. The K Desktop Environment, configured to look and function a bit like Windows 7 or XP, along with Ubuntu’s software repositories is usually slam dunk.

Men who achieve some power desire more until they destroy themselves trying to get it.—Turai Ossa
Sanctum of Rall since beta 3. Mesmer since 1070 AE

(edited by Aneirin Cadwall.9126)

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Posted by: Nihzu.6352

Nihzu.6352

On the other hand, the public at large are not computer hobbyists, which means they don’t have the hundreds of hours required to learn install a basic word processor on a computer, or to dig through hundreds of threads debating Vi and Emacs. Anyone can work with Windows in a matter of minutes. That’s a fact.

Erm, no. Anyone sufficiently intelligent can learn any operating system, even more so if they lack previous experience since there is no need to “unlearn” or “relearn” habits to perform task X.
The only fact is that the general population has a higher probability to be used to working with windows for historical reasons. Familiarity and ease-of-use are two very distinct notions.
And hundreds of hours to learn install a basic word processor, really? Either you have no idea what you’re talking about, or your experience is limited to maybe Slackware anno 1994, drop the FUD thank you very much.

Sure you’re right in theory, but if the public at large knew how to make decent clothing, Abercrombie&Fitch would be out of business too. Same goes for McDonald’s if the public knew how to make affordable food.

Except we’re talking about something akin to wearing clothes or eating food. Not producing them.

The boon of windows is simplicity. It works out of the box. That’s simply not true for linux.

The boon of windows is its ubiquity on desktop PCs. Nothing else. Again, familiarity vs ease-of-use.

So let linux be what linux is for … enthousiasts, and let the public at large use something which is made for the public at large… windows. Why try square the circle all the time.

Linux is for what whoever wants to make out of it. Ubuntu is for instance also targeted at the public at large.

PS: i’m just posting to bumb this thread. If a dev has some spare time and wants to waste it on less than 1% of the gaming population, he should most certainly do so, but it can’t be a priority.

No such thing as the “1% of the gaming population”. If that 1% is a reference to online statistics about the desktop market share, first of all as I pointed out in a previous post routers and dual-boot systems among other things make the figure bogus, second as I also noted previously market share is one thing, market value another (see Humble Indie Bundle sales), and third the statistics that 1% is taken from also counts business PCs, definitely not among the gaming population.

It would be really great if people who have no stake in a Linux client could stop clogging the thread with their nonsense. Sure that bumps the thread but at the same time having to debunk the same old bogus arguments could be spent on much more constructive activities.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

Hey guys, in case anyone was unaware, there was an interview a while back with Colin Johanson, where a linux port was brought up:


Yeah, regarding the kind of popularity of Guild Wars 2, you guys are at the moment working on a Mac port, and obviously that’s going to extend your popularity. But have you guys considered a Linux port? Do you think Linux users will be able to get their hands on Guild Wars 2 in the future?


You know, it’s something that we check around every now and then, but there’s no one actively working on it right now, and we won’t be working on it in the near future. But we have talked about it, yes.

Which is somewhat unfortunate. The interview is a little old (December 2012), so they might have looked back into it since then. Still, it’s doubtful. Even though this thread is one of the hottest topics in the suggestion forums, I don’t think our port is coming any time soon.

That being said, I’m all ears for ideas!

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

Hey guys, in case anyone was unaware, there was an interview a while back with Colin Johanson, where a linux port was brought up:


Yeah, regarding the kind of popularity of Guild Wars 2, you guys are at the moment working on a Mac port, and obviously that’s going to extend your popularity. But have you guys considered a Linux port? Do you think Linux users will be able to get their hands on Guild Wars 2 in the future?


You know, it’s something that we check around every now and then, but there’s no one actively working on it right now, and we won’t be working on it in the near future. But we have talked about it, yes.

Which is somewhat unfortunate. The interview is a little old (December 2012), so they might have looked back into it since then. Still, it’s doubtful. Even though this thread is one of the hottest topics in the suggestion forums, I don’t think our port is coming any time soon.

That being said, I’m all ears for ideas!

I think it comes down to how much more money they can make versus the costs of making it and supporting it. There might be a large number of people who would play it on Linux, but it could very well be that the vast majority of those players are already playing the Windows version, so it would only be that minority they would gain in sales, and that minority may not be enough to justify the costs of porting and supporting.

Want the industry to take Linux more seriously? It will probably would take every Linux gamer to completely stop buying any Non Linux game for a long while, even if they have Windows installed, but prefer to play through Linux, they would have to stop buying Windows only games to show the industry there is a strong enough market for Linux.

(edited by eisberg.2379)

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Posted by: Aneirin Cadwall.9126

Aneirin Cadwall.9126

It’s a fairly safe bet that Linux users the world over wouldn’t mind a client that isn’t officially supported. Give me 60 FPS and I’m good to go. ;p

Men who achieve some power desire more until they destroy themselves trying to get it.—Turai Ossa
Sanctum of Rall since beta 3. Mesmer since 1070 AE

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

It’s a fairly safe bet that Linux users the world over wouldn’t mind a client that isn’t officially supported. Give me 60 FPS and I’m good to go. ;p

Honestly, I would be good with 30. I am definitely okay with a decent WINE port… but that doesn’t solve the underlying issue. The fact is that very few AAA game development companies see linux as a viable development platform, and I think this is the problem most linux-users on this thread are trying to correct.

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

like I said, imo Linux users are shooting themselves in the foot. I have a lot of friends and co-workers who are gamers, and they use Linux and Windows, and they have no problem buying a Windows only game, they prefer to have a linux version, but it being a Windows only game will not stop them from buying the game. The industry probably sees this as well. Really no reason to spend money on making a AAA linux version if there are not enough Linux only gamers who would buy a AAA game.

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Posted by: EagleDelta.4726

EagleDelta.4726

Ok, whoever keeps bringing up the “1% Linux Marketshare” should stop now. All of those numbers are misleading. In a world where 98% of laptops and 85-90% of Desktops are all preloaded with either Windows or Mac OS X, then it doesn’t matter if I buy a laptop and put Linux on it, it will STILL count as a Windows/Mac “Marketshare”. I have 3 Computers at home – 1 Linux Media Center, 1 Windows “Steam Box”/Media Center, and one Laptop running both Linux and Windows. Not a single one of those counts as a “Linux” share because….. Windows came with them. The Marketshare % doesn’t give accurate details any more then the Humble Bundle Numbers (that default to whatever OS you purchase the bundle on – since I do so at work a lot, it shows as windows, though I install most on Linux)

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

Ok, whoever keeps bringing up the “1% Linux Marketshare” should stop now. All of those numbers are misleading. In a world where 98% of laptops and 85-90% of Desktops are all preloaded with either Windows or Mac OS X, then it doesn’t matter if I buy a laptop and put Linux on it, it will STILL count as a Windows/Mac “Marketshare”. I have 3 Computers at home – 1 Linux Media Center, 1 Windows “Steam Box”/Media Center, and one Laptop running both Linux and Windows. Not a single one of those counts as a “Linux” share because….. Windows came with them. The Marketshare % doesn’t give accurate details any more then the Humble Bundle Numbers (that default to whatever OS you purchase the bundle on – since I do so at work a lot, it shows as windows, though I install most on Linux)

Market share isn’t always counted from sales. There is a service that looks at about 5000 websites, that sees the information from 33+ million users and can see what OS they are using, there you will see that Linux is used less then 2% out of that 33 million users, and there is more then 1 service like that out there.

There there is Steam, it shows about 2% of their users use Linux.

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Posted by: EagleDelta.4726

EagleDelta.4726

Ok, whoever keeps bringing up the “1% Linux Marketshare” should stop now. All of those numbers are misleading. In a world where 98% of laptops and 85-90% of Desktops are all preloaded with either Windows or Mac OS X, then it doesn’t matter if I buy a laptop and put Linux on it, it will STILL count as a Windows/Mac “Marketshare”. I have 3 Computers at home – 1 Linux Media Center, 1 Windows “Steam Box”/Media Center, and one Laptop running both Linux and Windows. Not a single one of those counts as a “Linux” share because….. Windows came with them. The Marketshare % doesn’t give accurate details any more then the Humble Bundle Numbers (that default to whatever OS you purchase the bundle on – since I do so at work a lot, it shows as windows, though I install most on Linux)

Market share isn’t always counted from sales. There is a service that looks at about 5000 websites, that sees the information from 33+ million users and can see what OS they are using, there you will see that Linux is used less then 2% out of that 33 million users, and there is more then 1 service like that out there.

There there is Steam, it shows about 2% of their users use Linux.

Still doesn’t necessarily matter. I can’t remember how many times I’ve spoofed my Browser User-Agent, NOT because a website/webapp doesn’t work in Linux, but because it is disabled on any browser who’s User-Agent is NOT set to Windows or Mac (in some cases if it simply isn’t Windows). Not to mention that 5000 websites is pretty paltry compared to the total amount out there. Also, how many of those websites are accessed from Android? That’s Linux (don’t say it isn’t – if it runs a Linux Kernel, then it is Linux). But all you have to do is look at Android vs iOS. Android is known to be selling more devices than iOS (meaning higher marketshare), but more iOS users access the web than Android users making the numbers show iOS as higher. Now, this doesn’t change that Linux is still on the low end of marketshare at all, just making the point that using 1 or even 2 stats alone isn’t going to give accurate results, especially in a world where the average user isn’t even given a choice between Windows and Linux.

Additionally, it is still misleading. I do 95% of my work from Fedora, however since Guild Wars 2 and BF3 don’t work well in WINE, I still have to go to Windows to play those.

Windows and DirectX are NOT the Gods of gaming out there. Windows is far less stable and secure than the big Linux Distros (Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, etc) and DirectX and OpenGL are pretty much feature parity nowadays.

Not sure why so many games are made in DirectX either (namely Multi-platform), DirectX is only used in Windows and XBox, whereas OpenGL (or some form of it) is used on the Playstation, Wii, WiiU, iOS, Android, Linux and Mac.

I guess my point still stands – there are far more Linux users out there than data suggests, but due to compatibility with certain software, those users always have to go back to Windows for something, which contributes to false marketshare. People are locked into Windows for the time being and that won’t change for a while. Doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a client.

(edited by EagleDelta.4726)

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

I guess my point still stands – there are far more Linux users out there than data suggests, but due to compatibility with certain software, those users always have to go back to Windows for something, which contributes to false marketshare. People are locked into Windows for the time being and that won’t change for a while. Doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a client.

Still, Steam only shows 2% of their user base that uses Linux.
And that is where I said that Linux users are shooting themselves in the foot, they are still willing to use Windows to play games. Thereby giving little to no reason for game companies to support Linux. Them playing on Windows doesn’t give false market share, cause obviously they are a Windows users as well, therefore they count in the market share for Windows.

Also, Android is irrelevant when we are talking about AAA games being made for Computers.

In the desktop/laptop market, the information available shows that there isn’t enough Linux only gamers to support Linux version of AAA games, generally speaking. Yes there are a few companies that eventually port their AAA games to Linux, but they are few.

Linux gamers would probably have to stop buying Windows only AAA game for a long time to get the industry to realize they can make more money by supporting Linux as well, but it will take the Linux gamers to stick to their guns and never buy another Windows only game ever again.

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Posted by: killypoopy.1720

killypoopy.1720

Yes, I too would like a linux client, preferably Ubuntu since I already use it for steam. Come on now, Windows 8 plain ’ol sux compared to linux.

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Posted by: killerpoop.6791

killerpoop.6791

Yes, linux native client please!

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

I actually agree with some of the above posts. Until linux gamers stop buying windows games, we won’t get anywhere—even if our OS is technically superior. The fact is that most linux gamers also know how to get their games to run appropriately on their computer, a quality that allows game developers can overlook the OS as a whole without feeling bad about it. Life’s tough as a linux gamer.

Still, I feel Anet is missing an opportunity to be one of the first AAA MMO’s to be on a linux platform. They would surely get publicity from that—especially if they play their cards right.

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Posted by: Archenos.6924

Archenos.6924

The problem is other.. If you as linux user don’t buy a game to play it , how could the game developers know you want to use it on Linux OS …. (most known is Ubuntu) . Only by buying the game (that you like it) and then make a request on a thread on forum and say that you bought it and would appreciate to be available besides Windows (and now Mac) , for Linux also. This should be more relevant information than any marketshare.

Let’s take example of the 1% that is said through this thread, how do you know if you aren’t the one who has 0,65% and others have 0,07% ,0,12,% and so on ? Or how do you know if by entering this market , you don’t increase the total percentage , given that there are requests ?

In my opinion, a game , even at the scale of GW2, should not be restricted in one OS (I mean here Windows before Mac client announcement) .
Having it available to all known OS (in this case Windows , Mac OS, Linux) could be a unique thing.

Let’s think otherwise… investing on making a OS client available is only one time thing, after this only updates,fixes , and this could lead to other things..
Some of those are : reduce game quit (because of moving to other OS that game doesn’t have client for it), increase game clients (because of possibility of choose an OS), opportunity to test different OS to gameplay, increased FPS and better gameplay environment.

From February 2013 I quit using Windows and moved to Linux Ubuntu, and run the game through Wine in x64 .

As information through Wine gameplay x64 I could say :
- staying in cities (21-25 FPS)
- PvE world (16-26)
- dungeons work at 18-25 FPS , even Fractals , but not as perfect as 35+ in Windows
- WvWvW works while not being in major groups or get into combat with large enemy groups (15-25 FPS) , if this happens , it could be from 8-14 FPS or worse 2-5 FPS.

As last informations :
- as gaming on Linux , with heavy known games, started from February 2013 through Steam and are still making Windows and Mac games work on Linux
- started to see proprietary programs being available to buy through Ubuntu Software Center (like the Windows Market from Microsoft) , besides the open-source alternatives
- Linux was build with security first-hand in mind, no anti-virus programs (and updates for versions are with no cost), meaning for programs faster loading and for games better gameplay experience . In this situation I could say about Mac OS same thing(only don’t know if it has same update method), only that most Mac OS are on Apple devices or Apple computers best.
- there are players that might want this client but didn’t enter forum and reply
- let’s not forget also about those who use dual-boot only to play GW2 on best gameplay possible at the moment and use Linux (Ubuntu) on other daily things, hoping that one day they could only stay in Linux.

(edited by Archenos.6924)

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Posted by: munkiman.3068

munkiman.3068

Games designed around DirectX need to either port those calls to openGL or emulate them. There are both Wine and Cedega (which is wineX btw) based wrappers for Linux based platforms. Being an open OS, with many different kernal flavors, you run into low level call issues that can easily break the code without using an emulator system. There still are very few games that are coded directly for linux based systems, most of them use emulation wrappers.

[TAO] Founder/Owner and Administrator for the NSP Server Website

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

Games designed around DirectX need to either port those calls to openGL or emulate them. There are both Wine and Cedega (which is wineX btw) based wrappers for Linux based platforms. Being an open OS, with many different kernal flavors, you run into low level call issues that can easily break the code without using an emulator system. There still are very few games that are coded directly for linux based systems, most of them use emulation wrappers.

Wine’s translation layer is kitten. Cedega’s is not as kitten, but still not even close to native. OpenGL is an open standard that has a fixed specification, and all the ‘low level call issues’ are abstracted into libGL itself.

You may or may not know me as K900.

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Posted by: John Yanez.5486

John Yanez.5486

Ok, whoever keeps bringing up the “1% Linux Marketshare” should stop now. All of those numbers are misleading. In a world where 98% of laptops and 85-90% of Desktops are all preloaded with either Windows or Mac OS X, then it doesn’t matter if I buy a laptop and put Linux on it, it will STILL count as a Windows/Mac “Marketshare”. I have 3 Computers at home – 1 Linux Media Center, 1 Windows “Steam Box”/Media Center, and one Laptop running both Linux and Windows. Not a single one of those counts as a “Linux” share because….. Windows came with them. The Marketshare % doesn’t give accurate details any more then the Humble Bundle Numbers (that default to whatever OS you purchase the bundle on – since I do so at work a lot, it shows as windows, though I install most on Linux)

Market share isn’t always counted from sales. There is a service that looks at about 5000 websites, that sees the information from 33+ million users and can see what OS they are using, there you will see that Linux is used less then 2% out of that 33 million users, and there is more then 1 service like that out there.

There there is Steam, it shows about 2% of their users use Linux.

I wonder what percentage of Steam users would use GNU/Linux if Steam supported other Linux distributions besides Ubuntu.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

I wonder what percentage of Steam users would use GNU/Linux if Steam supported other Linux distributions besides Ubuntu.

Honestly, I don’t feel like the percentage would increase too greatly. Most of the time, if there is a port to one distribution, the other distribution’s software centers have the same package in a matter of hours. That being said, linux is still new to the gaming world. I’m sure once bigger games are ported, there will be more players coming to linux. Actually, now that I think about it, I bet there are quite a few players sitting on windows, just waiting for their favorite game to make the switch (such as many players on this thread).

Even though steam says only ~1.5% of players play on linux, I’m not worried. We need to give it time and push for big games to make a big deal about supporting linux. We also need to support companies who support us. Eventually the market will shift and allow linux to be an OS contender.

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Posted by: John Yanez.5486

John Yanez.5486

I wonder what percentage of Steam users would use GNU/Linux if Steam supported other Linux distributions besides Ubuntu.

Honestly, I don’t feel like the percentage would increase too greatly. Most of the time, if there is a port to one distribution, the other distribution’s software centers have the same package in a matter of hours. That being said, linux is still new to the gaming world. I’m sure once bigger games are ported, there will be more players coming to linux. Actually, now that I think about it, I bet there are quite a few players sitting on windows, just waiting for their favorite game to make the switch (such as many players on this thread).

Even though steam says only ~1.5% of players play on linux, I’m not worried. We need to give it time and push for big games to make a big deal about supporting linux. We also need to support companies who support us. Eventually the market will shift and allow linux to be an OS contender.

Well I haven’t played Team Fortress II since switching from Lubuntu 12 to Debian 6.0.
I’m sure there’s a way to get Steam to work with Debian and one day, when I’m not feeling lazy, I might give it a try.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

Well I haven’t played Team Fortress II since switching from Lubuntu 12 to Debian 6.0.
I’m sure there’s a way to get Steam to work with Debian and one day, when I’m not feeling lazy, I might give it a try.

Hmm. I know in my own distribution (Arch), the steam beta was in the AUR in a matter of hours. I’m surprised to hear it is not on your distro yet (especially because of Debian’s notoriety).

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

I wonder what percentage of Steam users would use GNU/Linux if Steam supported other Linux distributions besides Ubuntu.

Honestly, I don’t feel like the percentage would increase too greatly. Most of the time, if there is a port to one distribution, the other distribution’s software centers have the same package in a matter of hours. That being said, linux is still new to the gaming world. I’m sure once bigger games are ported, there will be more players coming to linux. Actually, now that I think about it, I bet there are quite a few players sitting on windows, just waiting for their favorite game to make the switch (such as many players on this thread).

Even though steam says only ~1.5% of players play on linux, I’m not worried. We need to give it time and push for big games to make a big deal about supporting linux. We also need to support companies who support us. Eventually the market will shift and allow linux to be an OS contender.

Well I haven’t played Team Fortress II since switching from Lubuntu 12 to Debian 6.0.
I’m sure there’s a way to get Steam to work with Debian and one day, when I’m not feeling lazy, I might give it a try.

Click here.

You may or may not know me as K900.

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Posted by: soulsuke.7913

soulsuke.7913

That is for Debian Wheezy which is 7.0, I don’t know if it will work on Squeeze (6.0), since it lacks multiarch…
I can say that Ubuntu’s package works flawlessly on Debian Sid without any hack though

Proud Opera and Debian Sid (unstable) user. And it won’t stop me from playing GW2! :p

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Posted by: tabjones.5604

tabjones.5604

I would like to state my opinion on the possible Linux client.
A company like this would have no problem developing a Linux client and they would have only benefits from it:

- more people playing and buying the game
- no additional maintenance
- no need to release a client for every distributions out there, just do a “bin” or an “sh” file that everyone can install and let users figure out how to resolve dependencies (if there are any).
- less posts like this, more community sanity!

I don’t see any disadvantages, so just do it ! Let people be happy !

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Posted by: eisberg.2379

eisberg.2379

I would like to state my opinion on the possible Linux client.
A company like this would have no problem developing a Linux client and they would have only benefits from it:

- more people playing and buying the game
- no additional maintenance
- no need to release a client for every distributions out there, just do a “bin” or an “sh” file that everyone can install and let users figure out how to resolve dependencies (if there are any).
- less posts like this, more community sanity!

I don’t see any disadvantages, so just do it ! Let people be happy !

Disadvantage: The money needed to port, and then to support the Linux version. What ever they make in sales for having a Linux version may not justify the money spent on porting and supporting a Linux version.

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Posted by: munkiman.3068

munkiman.3068

Well, until they actually get some Mac support, a port to Linux would only cost them more angry customers that will just go unsupported. I simply cannot fathom how they can sell Mac players a game that they can’t even support adequately.

[TAO] Founder/Owner and Administrator for the NSP Server Website

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Posted by: TokyoGhost.6492

TokyoGhost.6492

I hate windows. I feel so much insecure and closed, prisoner and slowed. I don’t want to see windows with my eyes, and i don’t want to even talk about playing games on it.

+1 to Linux, I really need launcher/client for it! Please make game comptable with Linux!

Thanks!!!

+100000000000 for LINUX!!

I made so much mistakes that I now make mistakes without mistake.

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Posted by: Leios.8965

Leios.8965

Honestly, it used to be that linux gamers would have to bite the bullet and play games on WINE or else dual-boot windows. Now, with steam and humble bundles, that’s no longer the case. I have more games available to me on linux now than I ever did on windows. The only thing I don’t have is an MMO I actually want to play. I’m content dropping Guild Wars 2 entirely, though, if the port is never going to happen. As it stands, because it’s WINE build has not become any better, I hardly play the game anyway.

Really, though, I would like ANET to say SOMETHING to us. I mean, for the longest time, this was the #1 suggestion on the suggestion forums. Even if they just say, “We do not intend to create a linux port at this time.” That would be fine by me. I’m just getting tired of checking this thread every day to see if anyone has said something worth mentioning or if ANET has posted.

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Posted by: soulsuke.7913

soulsuke.7913

I agree with you Leios, a response from a staff member would most surely be appreciated, even if it’s just a “We’re not going to consider you all all, go kitten off”

Proud Opera and Debian Sid (unstable) user. And it won’t stop me from playing GW2! :p

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Posted by: Praffy.4091

Praffy.4091

Ok, whoever keeps bringing up the “1% Linux Marketshare” should stop now. All of those numbers are misleading. In a world where 98% of laptops and 85-90% of Desktops are all preloaded with either Windows or Mac OS X, then it doesn’t matter if I buy a laptop and put Linux on it, it will STILL count as a Windows/Mac “Marketshare”. I have 3 Computers at home – 1 Linux Media Center, 1 Windows “Steam Box”/Media Center, and one Laptop running both Linux and Windows. Not a single one of those counts as a “Linux” share because….. Windows came with them. The Marketshare % doesn’t give accurate details any more then the Humble Bundle Numbers (that default to whatever OS you purchase the bundle on – since I do so at work a lot, it shows as windows, though I install most on Linux)

Market share isn’t always counted from sales. There is a service that looks at about 5000 websites, that sees the information from 33+ million users and can see what OS they are using, there you will see that Linux is used less then 2% out of that 33 million users, and there is more then 1 service like that out there.

There there is Steam, it shows about 2% of their users use Linux.

About steam and linux and that 2%…
have you seen the games that steam has for linux??
MOST OF THEM ARE CRAP
my brain started to melt when i had a look @those games
wtf
of course there is only 2% of linux users on steam since there is almost no game to choose to play.
and i had a look @that list of games from steam on linux yesterday…..

and yes i want a linux version of guild wars2.
wine in full screen goes up to 10-15 fps . with the very same settings in windows i have 20-25 fps…Well i have an hd 4000 (ivy bridge) card so i dont expect much from it..but still 10-15 fps in linux is lame.

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Posted by: Tyler.7168

Tyler.7168

I would love to have a native Guild Wars 2 client, as well. The only thing holding me to the Windows platform is Guild Wars 2 and Skyrim, but I could get Skyrim on Xbox 360 if push came to shove. The other games that I play such as X3 Shady Business, Killing Floor, Serious Sam 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Neverwinter Nights, Heroes of Newerth, Brutal Legend, and even my old DOS games (emulated through DOSbox) have been released natively for Linux. GW2 works through Wine, but it forces the Win32 client into a single core, significantly reducing performance. Heck, I’d buy GW2 all over again if it meant I could play in Ubuntu or Mint.

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Posted by: Hamdor.4187

Hamdor.4187

A native Client for Linux would be awesome and Anet already done the biggest step, the developers ported the Client to Mac, now the Linux Client is just a bit more work. You would make a lot people very happy. :-)

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Posted by: MehWhatever.1248

MehWhatever.1248

A native Client for Linux would be awesome and Anet already done the biggest step, the developers ported the Client to Mac, now the Linux Client is just a bit more work. You would make a lot people very happy. :-)

Well, the Mac version runs under a Mac-specific proprietary fork of what once was Wine, so it’s not really a small step. And the wrapper itself is kinda terrible….

You may or may not know me as K900.

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Posted by: Kojiden.8405

Kojiden.8405

Given the PRISM scandal if Anet made a client for Linux I would switch to Linux in a heartbeat.

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Posted by: Aneirin Cadwall.9126

Aneirin Cadwall.9126

Well, until they actually get some Mac support, a port to Linux would only cost them more angry customers

Linux users don’t get angry about things that go wrong with hardware/software. Mac users are special, delicate flowers.

Men who achieve some power desire more until they destroy themselves trying to get it.—Turai Ossa
Sanctum of Rall since beta 3. Mesmer since 1070 AE

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Posted by: FlamingFoxx.1305

FlamingFoxx.1305

Well, until they actually get some Mac support, a port to Linux would only cost them more angry customers

Linux users don’t get angry about things that go wrong with hardware/software. Mac users are special, delicate flowers.

He’s talking about the fact that transgamings cider wrappers have issues and for the large part Anet has provided very little support on the OSX Support forums, by which I mean the last time a staff member actually provided tech support was back in 2012. Don’t go insulting OSX users just because you have some ridiculous notion about how they act. -_-

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Posted by: Drayven.6408

Drayven.6408

I love how people here claim that only 1% of the Market are Linux Users…

Do a google search and you will see a “Current Counter” on the 2nd page listed, putting the average amount at around 2.5% of users…The first page puts it at .83% but is also a “Microsoft” backed website.

Even still, with those numbers, one thing that -neither- one of the websites “Count” is the most popular version of Linux out there currently, being Android…

“Hello there Sir Derps-alot, you say that Linux is only 1% of the market or less? What did you think Android was? Some kind of Fantasy Operating System?”

Now I do realize that Android is based for the ARM Architecture and Desktops usely run on an x86 Architecture, or x64, but do your research before you spew skritt from your mouth. Kk?