Guild Wars 2

I will sell my firstborn for a linux client.

If I was Arenanet I would wait to see how things go for Valve first. We should see the steam linux beta next month if all goes to plan and a small selection of titles moving over each week. Within 3 months or so there should be enough data to say of its worth it or not. I’d love a linux client, but Im also aware of the additional costs involved.

TeeBeeNZ.1963:

If I was Arenanet I would wait to see how things go for Valve first. We should see the steam linux beta next month if all goes to plan and a small selection of titles moving over each week. Within 3 months or so there should be enough data to say of its worth it or not. I’d love a linux client, but Im also aware of the additional costs involved.

Makes sense… Guess I’ll use PlayonLinux in the meantime .-.

Colonel Kernel.7506:

@John Yanez
Try *nix

@Illiander
Actually there are 25 or so bullet points that an OS must adhere to in order to be considered a Unix. Linux is missing like 4 or 5 last time I saw the list.

That’s why I put “Everyone Knows” as a quote, rather than a statement of fact. I assumed that there were a few things missing.

TeeBeeNZ.1963:

If I was Arenanet I would wait to see how things go for Valve first. We should see the steam linux beta next month if all goes to plan and a small selection of titles moving over each week. Within 3 months or so there should be enough data to say of its worth it or not. I’d love a linux client, but Im also aware of the additional costs involved.

Supporting Wine should not have significantly more cost than supporting Transgaming.

Also, ANet now have the info on who’s using Linux, I for one would like to see a numbers breakdown of how many people are using the Mac client, and how many are using the Windows client with “-dx9single”. If the Mac numbers are smaller, then ANet have some serious thinking to do.

With rawinput patch gw2 works really nicely on wine.
Only problem is there’s no gem store or trading post. So if they could make a way to have this for us, OR let us buy stuff on the gem store / trading post on a website online, outside of the game, that would help a lot.

John: I was not using “monolithic” in this way, by monolithic I meant the giant heap of code that is windows which is simply something more like a jenga tower, very little is ever removed or changed, just more crap thrown on top (although windows 7 was a step in the right direction, who knows where they’re headed with windows I am aware of how the kernels differ, but regardless this thread is not for debating windows vs. Linux, it’s for suggesting a native Linux client of this excellent game.

Also I still stand by my point that using a compatibility layer to make it “work” isn’t the way to go, and I’m surprised that Anet even decided to do this with the Mac client as it would be much more effective to simply make a native client that performs much better. But time is money I guess and shortcuts save time. Anet devs could try putting the idea up on Kickstarter and see just how much Linux users would be willing to contribute toward the effort (with an announcement here that it was put up so that we actually know and can go donate) or simply put a donation or preferably a “I pledge to buy” link here if it reaches X amount of pledges, then the project moves forward, if it doesn’t well then tough, the money just wasn’t there.

+1 for Linux client

I support linux because with all the programs I need to work day to day ( minus games partition) its only 10gb. Where as windows is 80gb with standard programs. Not to mention my linux install boots in 6 seconds where as windows takes 45 seconds and only 100 mb idle ram usage on linux, 5gb on windows.

I agree windows uses more but, that’s just a bit over exaggerated x5 times.

Eitherway, I wouln’t play games on linux.
Might have my support for it, but then again i’m not positive i’d be playing it on linux.

If you look at ram its alot more than 5x however it depends on what linux distro you use and how you set it up, windows there isn’t much choice. Thats the reason I like linux, I made a gaming machine that has no unnecessary functions

rebelkhaotic.7329

Only problem is there’s no gem store or trading post. So if they could make a way to have this for us, OR let us buy stuff on the gem store / trading post on a website online, outside of the game, that would help a lot.

Works like a charm over here.
Try PlayOnLinux, it has a package with all patches you need and it will install everything automaticaly without touching your normal Wine installation.

If the Mac version uses OpenGL then perhaps aNet should add an option to allow the Windows version to use OpenGL as well. Then maybe the Windows client would run better under Wine (after the Wine team for Guild Wars 2 tweaks the settings).

+1

One more Linux user here. It seems a very big deal basically, but if its possible for Mac its for Linux too and if we have a fair share as Linux users then why not?

a Linux Client is not really needed since there are Terminal Emulation with linux to create a windows shell such as WINE.

Undermine.1678:

a Linux Client is not really needed since there are Terminal Emulation with linux to create a windows shell such as WINE.

Not going to pick that apart, but replacing Linux with Mac is just as true there. Yet they did it anyway.

They seem to have done it by using a proprietary, Mac-only Wine-type application, but thay still support it.

I still want to see the numbers on All Users, Mac Users, and “-dx9single” users.

JuremoPakwim.8392:

rebelkhaotic.7329

Only problem is there’s no gem store or trading post. So if they could make a way to have this for us, OR let us buy stuff on the gem store / trading post on a website online, outside of the game, that would help a lot.

Works like a charm over here.
Try PlayOnLinux, it has a package with all patches you need and it will install everything automaticaly without touching your normal Wine installation.

odd I didn’t say that, yet it shows my name?

+1 for Linux native client.

With Valve working on getting their Source engine working for Linux, Guild Wars 2 is the only thing tentatively holding me back from going all linux.

Is GW2 OpenGL in the Mac client? If so, would it be easier to try to get the Mac client working on linux than the Windows client? I’m not really too savvy in those departments…

To make this clear (It’s stated maybe three posts up, but when do forums care about people reading the whole thread?)

GW2 for Mac is using a compatibility layer similar to WINE, so that the devs can write for Windows and DirectX, and just have the Mac handle it.

This begs the question, why didn’t they go to CodeWeavers instead for the better OS coverage? (CodeWeavers are the group behind WINE, and WINE does work just fine on Mac)

And I still want to see the numbers on All Users, Mac Users, and “-dx9single” users.

To make that count accurate, I would encourage anyone who is dual-booting to install PlayOnLinux and run GW2 from there, so ANet get accurate numbers of what people want. I can confirm that it runs just fine.

i support this cause as well, windows 7 might be the end for me, i would love more than anything for a linux client, windows 8 is just not looking great tbh.

Undermine.1678:

a Linux Client is not really needed since there are Terminal Emulation with linux to create a windows shell such as WINE.

sure there is but the bugs arent all fixed and its not official,

From where I sit, the only reason that Mac OSX is being ported to is market share. There are enough clients out there that ArenaNet can make a profit porting the game. Linux is at a point where it’s market share is what Mac’s market share was seven years ago (less than half of it’s current user base). I am fairly sure that if Linux had a large enough user base it too would be supported.
There have been in the past a few companies (such as HP, Dell and E-Machines) that would ship computers with LInux pre-installed. Sales were so poor and in the case of E-Machines the support complaints were so costly that almost all of them have dropped Linux as a standard offering.

There is no “port” as such the whole linux client request is null.
The mac client uses technology based on WINE to run on OSX. Perhaps tehy added an installer, but not much more than that.
I pity the poor souls who get the game for mac. if performance under native windows is bad, I can only imagine how worse it’s gonna be on OSX.

Kendra Nightwind.8734:

From where I sit, the only reason that Mac OSX is being ported to is market share. There are enough clients out there that ArenaNet can make a profit porting the game. Linux is at a point where it’s market share is what Mac’s market share was seven years ago (less than half of it’s current user base). I am fairly sure that if Linux had a large enough user base it too would be supported.
There have been in the past a few companies (such as HP, Dell and E-Machines) that would ship computers with LInux pre-installed. Sales were so poor and in the case of E-Machines the support complaints were so costly that almost all of them have dropped Linux as a standard offering.

The sales were bad because they hid those options away such that you had to spend 5 minutes searching their website to find them, and then they were more expensive than the machines with windows on them. And they didn’t advertise them at all. What do you expect when you do that? There’s a HHGttG quote that I am very tempted to use here: it ends with “beware of the leopard”.

Linux is gaining ground with absolutely no mainstream advertising, against two companies with some of the best marketing departments on the planet. What does that tell you?

Also, ANet could have supported Mac and Linux for about the same as supporting just Mac. Official support for WINE would have done that, yet they chose not to. That’s why I keep asking for user counts of Windows, Mac, and Windows using “-dx9single”. Because those are the firm numbers.

Skyliner.7436:

There is no “port” as such the whole linux client request is null.
The mac client uses technology based on WINE to run on OSX. Perhaps tehy added an installer, but not much more than that.
I pity the poor souls who get the game for mac. if performance under native windows is bad, I can only imagine how worse it’s gonna be on OSX.

Haven’t you heard from Valve? Games run better on Linux

Please, make a linux port!
I am a linux user, but now I am stuck with Win8 release-preview to play GW2

Linux has a growing gaming market. Look at “Humble Indie Bundle” statistics for example. Linux users paid way higher price than any other OS users.
Even I would be willing to pay extra for native GW2-linux-client.

Would also love a Linux client. And know for a fact that my dad would buy and play the game if there was one.

+1

Please do this!

Wow, I seem to be late to the party once again!

I came into the suggestions section to ask if a Linux client would be possible. I understand that the Windows client is still getting sorted and that the OSX client is still in beta, so it’s going to be a while before we see this come our way. It would be stellar if it could though.

It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one looking for this to happen. I have a list of things that keep me tethered to Windows, but that list gets smaller all the time. Here’s hoping I can scratch one more thing off that list.

Icarusdown.6584:

Wow, I seem to be late to the party once again!

I came into the suggestions section to ask if a Linux client would be possible. I understand that the Windows client is still getting sorted and that the OSX client is still in beta, so it’s going to be a while before we see this come our way. It would be stellar if it could though.

It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one looking for this to happen. I have a list of things that keep me tethered to Windows, but that list gets smaller all the time. Here’s hoping I can scratch one more thing off that list.

Grab PlayOnLinux, it’s a WINE wrapper that has a build that fixes the issues with GW2 on WINE. Scratch another thing from your list.

GW2 on Linux is perfectly possible, what we’re all here wanting is official support. I think even just official support for WINE would be very much appreciated by the Linux community here. (And then ANet could stop messing about with Transgaming, as WINE runs just fine on a Mac : wouldn’t that be nice, just one alternate environment to support, and you make everyone happy?)

using playonlinux with WINE is not restricted right?
because i am not gaining anything rather than not using stupid windows
clearly no advantage at all but i just want some kind of confirmation is its permitted or not

WINE is a third-party application in the same way that Windows is. And I haven’t heard anyone being banned for using that.

I think the upcoming guidlines on third party applications will clear this up though. It’s certainly not against the spirit of their policy, as it provides no advantage.

A Linux client would be awesome

Well, Valve announced that the first Steam for Linux beta test will be next week.

I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more companies will take notice of Linux, especially since Valve has been working with Nvidia and AMD to buff up the somewhat crappy Linux drivers they have been ignoring.

From the tests so far, L4D2 has better framerate under Ubuntu than in Windows 7. Lulz. I just seriously hope a Linux client for GW2 will be considered in the months to come.

There is a petition here for official support of WINE, while I do not think this is the best option, and that a native version of GW2 for linux would be FAR better, this is better than nothing

http://www.change.org/petitions/arenanet-inc-consider-development-alongside-the-wine-project-3

I too would love a Linux port, or just official support for Wine.
I tried running Guildwars 2 with Wine and with Playonlinux, but I’ve had a lot of lag (between 1-10fps), and it was just unbearable to play.
I’m hoping for a fix, or better support for Linux, so I can finally get rid of Windows.

I don’t run a Linux machine (toyed around with it once), but I’m in full support of my Linux brothers and sisters being able to enjoy some GW2 goodness.

/signed

Rompetomp.1253:

I too would love a Linux port, or just official support for Wine.
I tried running Guildwars 2 with Wine and with Playonlinux, but I’ve had a lot of lag (between 1-10fps), and it was just unbearable to play.
I’m hoping for a fix, or better support for Linux, so I can finally get rid of Windows.

Low framerate is not lag. Which is it?

Lag shouldn’t really be happening due to wine. Check your internet speed on linux in general if that’s the issue.

Low framerate is likely due to not using your graphics card fully. For a very rough check of whether your graphics card is actually being used, run glxgears and check the framerate, if it’s under 10,000fps, look into installing the drivers for your graphics card, some linux distros don’t install the good ones by default. Also, you will get low framerate for the first 10 seconds or so after loading into an area, while everything gets background-loaded, but then it improves.

If you need more help than that, I’m going to need more information about your system.

Please ArenaNet bring a Linux client it would so awesome.

@Illiander.8049:

Yes, excuse me, that’s what I meant, I’ve got a low framerate (not native English here, y’know).
I’ve got an i5-3450 with a Sapphire Radeon HD6870 (1GB).

Rompetomp.1253:

@Illiander.8049:

Yes, excuse me, that’s what I meant, I’ve got a low framerate (not native English here, y’know).
I’ve got an i5-3450 with a Sapphire Radeon HD6870 (1GB).

So, lots more questions:

Which graphics driver are you using? What’s your glxgrears framerate? (I know it’s not a benchmark, but it works as a “Is my graphics accelleration working?” test)

Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with AMD cards, and I’m think I remember some issues that they had when used with wine, but I’m not sure if those have been solved or not since I last needed to look. Do you have objections to using the closed-source driver? Does your distro’s package manager have any helpful-looking options? (What distro are you using?)

I sent you a PM, so we won’t fill this thread with my issues.

Here to also say I would exclusively game on Linux if the client were available. In fact I think ANet should take a survey to see how strong the userbase for linux would be.

+1 for Linux,
I am playing at the moment from Ubuntu 12.04 and PlayOnLinux, but I’d love a native client because I have low FPS. I lose like 10-20 FPS

I also support the idea.
In fact, I just keep Windows on my PC in order to play games (mainly GW2).

Agree, have to boot Windows OS just to play the game, and Windows is just so BAD compared to Linux come on -_- And Valve’s benchmarking experiments even resulted in Linux being considered slightly faster than Windows (after optimizing the gfx drivers – see Valve’s official Linux blog).

+1 for Linux. I understand the myriad of reasons and problems an open source platform with closed source poorly supported 3D drivers/OpenGL [*cough, I’m looking at you ATI, nVidia]. However I know that by having already offered a Mac client, that a Linux client wouldn’t be unreasonable in terms of both cost and work required because they share some the same roots in Unix architecture.

Let me lend my voice to this vocal minority, I would also enjoy a Linux client.

klarkc.3754:

We could create a online petition . . .

I have created one HERE.

I’ve tried making a thread to advocate this cause but a moderator infracted it. Please help spread the word so ArenaNet can start making rational decisions.

Twysted, it would also be very helpful if you mentioned this in your op, but be cautious as it may be taken down.

Ah, an online petition, because those work so well…

People, ANet already have the numbers of people using Linux. So if you want to encourage them to support it, don’t dual-boot, and actually play on linux. It works well enough.

And they haven’t done a mac port, they’re supporting a proprietory, mac-only wine look-alike, that seems to require more work from them than wine would. Why they’re doing this rather than just supporting wine I have no idea.

This would be a great step toward more common use of linux. Games drive the industry more than people are willing to admit. WINE can be great, but it will always under perform compared to a native client.

+1 for linux.
I still don’t understand why the hell is a mac version more important than a linux one.

I have no objection to a Linux client, but people in this thread are making some terrible assumptions:

1) OS X is not Linux. It is BSD Unix. Similar, yes. The same, no.

2) Someone described Windows as “terrible” for game developers. The opposite could not possibly be more true. DirectX is VERY GOOD. Speaking as a programmer who has used it, I can say with certainty that it is extremely easy to use and works well. OpenGL is also very good, don’t get me wrong. People need to stop wearing blinders, though. Whether you love or hate Microsoft, you have to admit that they pushed the gaming market -massively- forward with DirectX and continue to do so.

3) Implementing a Mac client makes much more sense than implementing a Linux client. Sorry, but the reality is there are many more Mac users than Linux users in the gaming market. Linux is great, and I love it, but the number of gamers using Linux full-time is minimal. I’d be happy to see ArenaNet implement a Linux client, but the idea that they should have done that before a Mac client is unreasonable.