Guild Wars 2

hi this is not trolling at least i hope not but i just want to give an opinion which i am sure is not new. is it possible to make this game run natively on linux. there is a mac version ( which has been in beta since god knows when ) so maybe you could possibly make a linux version too?

take your time no hurry its just that most people ( me included) would like to change to say ubuntu or arch or any linux destro but can’t coz this game only runs on windows and mac. however if this game was to be available on linux it would be a decent reason for a lot of people to move to linux and stop being forced to play games on windows. you could litrally pioneer or start a movement for mmo’s. not saying you’ll be the first just saying you will be a model to follow. just like how your magnificent game motivates and inspires people to play how they want and give them the freedom that they want in choosing and molding their characters specifically to their taste so to will you be giving players the freedom to run your game on the OS of their choice. its a remarkable game, a game that if i developed i would be proud of and praise myself over. its a shame that i am limiting my game to only be played by a certain amount of players. anyway this is just an opinion and an old one at that. me personally i don’t like windows 8 or 10. i don’t see MS backing down from their metric system no matter how many times people told them they don’t like the system. i think that win7 was where they peaked and are going down since. ubuntu is nice, simple, secure and easy to use. now if only i can run my fav game on it. it’ll be like having my cake and eating it.

sorry if i am trolling it was not my intention just stating a frustration of maybe a select group of players.

i would like to end by thanking Anet for all the extraordinary work they have done.
- they have listened to us when we whine
- they had the patience so see us grow
- they have proven their wisdom time and time again and given us what we asked for
and more
- friendliness and open mindedness is their virtue

in short you guys are awesome and we don’t deserve you LOL

thanks guys

Windows API allows for consistency when programming, and you’re practically guaranteed that hardware companies provide driver support for Windows. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare it would be, even if releasing a game to run natively on a single flavor of linux or any other *nix.

I’d love some kind of support for Linux. Anything at all. Be it adding an entire OpenGL option to the game, or just tweaking it to run better in Wine. Let’s face it, anybody who would be doing this should be capable of getting it installed and working. No Linux user is going to expect any tech support, hand holding, etc from Anet. We’d just like to be able to get better results out of the endeavor.

I’ve actually wiped Windows from my pc completely and currently play GW2 on Fedora via PlayOnLinux. The performance is terrible of course, but generally gets the job done. I really wish that situation was better though. It will never happen, but would be much appreciated if it did.

kazimarou.9472:

most people ( me included) would like to change to say ubuntu or arch or any linux destro but can’t coz this game only runs on windows and mac.

I agreed with you up until this most ludicrous statement. Most people want to switch to Linux, but can’t because GW2 only works on Windows and Mac? Then why wouldn’t they build a Hackintosh? Why wouldn’t they run it on Wine?

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works. As someone who has tried many Linux Distros (only to find them all to be un-uniformed and fragmented) as well as Mac OS I would NEVER want to move from Windows unless some enormous issues with either OS are rectified.

I’m prepared to sit on the most popular OS and take the elevated risks of malware infection if it means being able to run all of my apps and install my own software without having to mess around in terminals and mess around with third party drivers for hours on end.

Now, you want to game on Linux. That’s great. I want them to make a version for you, that would be great. But given how unpopular Linux is (it’s not even remotely in the same league as Windows or even Mac) it’s just not on the books right now.

For many game developers, Linux is just not cost effective. Perhaps if Distros weren’t so fragmented and they all ran great with the multitudes of gaming setups out there, it’d be a different story. This is one reason why SteamOS is sort of an aid for Linux in gaming but still not quite the saviour that people had hoped.

So yeah, Arenanet will have already taken Linux into account and likely isn’t on the table right now. But until that time, you can run Wine or an older version of Windows.

I’d imagine though that issues would arise when Arenanet announce that it only works for one or two of the many distros of Linux out there.

Kartel.2561:

I’d love some kind of support for Linux. Anything at all. Be it adding an entire OpenGL option to the game, or just tweaking it to run better in Wine. Let’s face it, anybody who would be doing this should be capable of getting it installed and working. No Linux user is going to expect any tech support, hand holding, etc from Anet. We’d just like to be able to get better results out of the endeavor.

I’ve actually wiped Windows from my pc completely and currently play GW2 on Fedora via PlayOnLinux. The performance is terrible of course, but generally gets the job done. I really wish that situation was better though. It will never happen, but would be much appreciated if it did.

And here we have the Linux user that nobody really understands. The type who could easily just have a Windows partition just for his favourite game(s) but opts instead to delete it and then run it on Wine. Then wants work to be done to make it run better (or a port) but not to have “his hand held” probably like some filthy windows user, eh?

I don’t see why you couldn’t have just saved yourself the trouble of doing what the OP does, play on Windows and wait for a port?

While I am downloading the game through a WINE virtual desktop, I started reading this and thought about the possibility of a native Linux version.
Like posters before me stated, there is a rather large variety of distributions to choose from. This can be adressed by picking Ubuntu/Debian/SteamOS and optimize towards this, while talented people in the community can make it work in the other distros.
Once you picked your target distribution, you’ll have to begin the actual work.
This can be done either inhouse, which is expensive, you have to hire additional personnel, or reallocate existing workforce. I doubt Anet can afford to start porting inhouse right now, as their teams are likely busy working on the expansion, that’s supposed to come out this year.
The other option they have is outsourcing. ArenaNet already partnered with TransGaming to get a working mac client. Maybe Transgaming would be interested to expand this partnership and provide a working Linux client? As long as it works, I wouldn’t mind a perpetual beta label, or occasional crashes. I crash on my Windows machine too, but I’d like to remove Windows from all my computers.
A third and a little crazy option is, that anet could take the engine’s code, strip all the art assets and ask the community to do the port. Unlikely, as Anet stated they have no intention of releasing the source code to the public.
I don’t think that ArenaNet will do a native Linux client this year, since their team is preoccupied with “Heart of the Thorns”, but I can imagine, that people at ArenaNet are watching the potential market carefully. There is a growing number of Steam games available for linux gamers. Not only small indie titles, but games like TF2 (naturally, as Steam has been the leader in adding linux support) , Civ 5 and Witcher 2
have been made available, on the GNU operating systems. Plus GOG.com has added a lot of backwards compatibility for many of my old favourites. It will probably be a few quartals until more big corporations realize, that a linux port now will be a good investment for the future, even EA seems to have acknowledged the existence of Linux gamers and offered a bundle of HTML5 games. (HTML5 games are inherently cross platform, but it’s the will to make money, that counts.)

So our options here are:

1. Go through the painstaking process of developing a native Linux version for GW2
OR
2. Sit on the overwhelmingly large majority of people playing on Windows/Mac and do no extra work

Hmm I wonder which one they’ll pick

also can’t you just play it on wine if you can install it via wine?

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

Elesmod.6790:

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

It’s also how it works, if you take into account that what programs are compatible with it is a part of “how it works”.

It’s different with phones, on one side because android is the better and most compatible option right now for most, and also because it isn’t as easy to install a different phone OS (if it’s possible at all in some of them) as it is to install a different computer OS.

Here in Venezuela the government gives away free laptops to school and high school students (called “Canaimitas”, literally “Little Canaimas”, Canaima is a native forest god), they run a custom version if linux that’s pre-loaded with material relevant to the course they’re in… and a big complain from teachers is how many students report the laptops as lost or stolen when in reality they pay money to wipe linux off the computers and install windows on them… you can actually see ads on the newspaper for people offering to do that, even if it’s illegal since the contract signed by the parents when they receive the laptop says that it’s not theirs, it belongs to the government and they get it while they’re in school, and they’re not allowed to remove the software needed for the education.

On the linux thing, it’s a catch 22 thing… developers won’t want to invest time and money into a project that won’t allow them to at least earn the money back, and they see the amount of linux market too small for that, but the market in the gaming community won’t grow as much as we’d want unless more developers start offering linux versions of their games. And it’s specially bad for GW2, since the engine is very windows centric (the mac version is basically the windows version running on a wrapper), so creating a true linux version would mean a major rewrite of the whole engine.

Developers won’t really care much until there’s a sizable linux-native-only market for their games… which is even smaller than the “I want linux versions but I’ll dual boot windows for games” (they don’t care whether you’d go full linux the moment your games are available) and the “I want native linux versions but it runs on wine so I’m happy” markets.

Elesmod.6790:

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

Many people would pic up a copy of Windows. Most users want easy to use, intuitive operating systems. Android is popular not just because it’s preinstalled, but because it’s easy to use even for somebody without much knowledge or experience. Windows and Mac OS are, similarly, geared towards novice users who want to plug in, turn on, and do what they want to do. Most people don’t want to mess around with terminal, or memorize a system of commands. They want point-and-click, plug-and-play systems that do what they want, when they want, with minimal input or effort.

DigitalKirin.9714:

Windows API allows for consistency when programming, and you’re practically guaranteed that hardware companies provide driver support for Windows. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare it would be, even if releasing a game to run natively on a single flavor of linux or any other *nix.

OMG! You almost killed me with that one!!! XD

+1. I would love a Linux compatible version.

This would entirely break my dependency on Windows

Elesmod.6790:

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

Pretty sure most would return the PC’s and just get a Mac in that scenario.

And the phone argument is absurd. People use the OS on their phone because changing it is an incredibly complicated process that requires custom made jail breaks or new OS’s. Even Cyanogen takes a while before a stable is ready for a device and not every device even gets that far, if any version at all.

Hell the vast majority of people love anything Apple makes and those of us who use Android only use Cyanogen because it’s better than the crap custom skinned versions so many companies fart out.

So. Linux. I use linux exclusively. Guild Wars 2 works on linux through wine with very little hassle. It does not work well, though. No matter what you do, you will only get about 25-50% of the FPS you would get in Windows.

This particular thread got really hostile really quickly. Most of the linux threads on this forum do not do that. I will try to be as objective as I can for this reason.

The truth is that commercial software developers develop most frequently for Windows. Is Windows the better choice? Eh, I am biased so I will refrain from answering that question. What I do know is that most of the people around me cannot use Windows for their work. For them, Windows is for gaming.

If kazimarou is in a similar situation, his claim that “most people ( me included) would like to change to say ubuntu or arch or any linux destro but can’t coz this game only runs on windows and mac.” Could be 100% true. It’s all relative to our experience.

There is also certainly demand for a linux port of Guild Wars 2. I mean, go way back to the initial release of the game (~2 years ago?). You’ll find a huge thread about linux support. From then, more and more posts have crept up. Anet has ignored every one of them.

This means that we should not expect a linux port.

As linux users, we have 3 options:

1. Use Wine. Deal with horrid FPS
2. Dual-boot Windows. Deal with Windows.
3. Quit Playing. Deal with it.

I’ve chosen a mixture of options 1 and 3. For a while, I had Windows dual-booted, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. When I heard about HoT, I was a little excited because I thought Anet might have completely rewritten their game engine to make it more GL friendly… but I honestly am starting to doubt that now.

In the end, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a linux client. In my opinion, creating one would have been the right move for Anet 2 years ago, but their linux community has long since moved on. Now, I don’t know anymore. I think it would still greatly benefit them as a game development company, but so many other companies support linux nowadays that they would no longer stand out as much for their deciding to provide a linux client.

Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry it was long.

TL;DR: Linux is a risk Anet probably will not take.

Linux is system for development only, attempt to make Desktop (system designed for users) system from linux is joke, because of poor support.

Of course, you can fix linux yourself – but that is not the competence of the user.

Yes, there are commercial versions of Linux, but they are for special purposes – not an Desktop.
And Android is not a Desktop system.

abbetd.5912:

Elesmod.6790:

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

Many people would pic up a copy of Windows. Most users want easy to use, intuitive operating systems. Android is popular not just because it’s preinstalled, but because it’s easy to use even for somebody without much knowledge or experience. Windows and Mac OS are, similarly, geared towards novice users who want to plug in, turn on, and do what they want to do. Most people don’t want to mess around with terminal, or memorize a system of commands. They want point-and-click, plug-and-play systems that do what they want, when they want, with minimal input or effort.

Many people have literally zero experience with any UNIX system, but like to talk kitten about it …
The installation and day to day use of say Ubuntu is as complicated as with Windows or Mac OS X.

Ranva.8024:

Many people have literally zero experience with any UNIX system, but like to talk kitten about it …
The installation and day to day use of say Ubuntu is as complicated as with Windows or Mac OS X.

I would go a step further and say that the installation and day-to-day usage of Ubuntu is easier than Windows or Mac OS X. My last install of Windows 7 took hours and hours of updating and rebooting. My latest install of Ubuntu took 30 minutes. In neither install did I have to touch my terminal.

Linux honestly has more advantages than disadvantages, it just doesn’t have the economy behind it.

I really think that Anet would be making the right decision in supporting linux, after all Guild Wars had a relatively large % of linux users. The problem is that Guild Wars is old and the moment those linux users realized Guild Wars 2 does not run as well on linux… well, they probably quit playing.

I do not think HoT will work well with Wine, and if it does not, they are screwing their linux and mac users.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Ranva.8024:

abbetd.5912:

Elesmod.6790:

hildegain.2106:

Windows isn’t the most used desktop OS just because of video games but also because of how it works.

It’s not because of how it works, it’s because it’s pre-installed on new computers. If tomorrow every vendor would start selling PCs with Linux, do you think everyone would grab a Windows box from a store shelf and install it? Most would just stay with Linux.
Look at the smartphone market. 90% of smartphones in the world run on Android (Linux), because it’s pre-installed.

Many people would pic up a copy of Windows. Most users want easy to use, intuitive operating systems. Android is popular not just because it’s preinstalled, but because it’s easy to use even for somebody without much knowledge or experience. Windows and Mac OS are, similarly, geared towards novice users who want to plug in, turn on, and do what they want to do. Most people don’t want to mess around with terminal, or memorize a system of commands. They want point-and-click, plug-and-play systems that do what they want, when they want, with minimal input or effort.

Many people have literally zero experience with any UNIX system, but like to talk kitten about it …
The installation and day to day use of say Ubuntu is as complicated as with Windows or Mac OS X.

Actually I do have some experience with Linux. Specifically, I’ve used Ubuntu, Lubuntu , Bodhi, Puppy, and Dan Small Linux. Day to day use is pretty straightforward, yes. Installation can also be pretty easy. Finding, downloading, and installing this party drivers for hardware components is what would, in my opinion, throw novice to average users off. With windows and mac, in the majority of cases, this is handled automatically. That is what most users want.

The learning curve for Linux operating systems is more than most people want to deal with. I hate to use a cliche, but most people want a system that “just works”

I’ve got nothing against Linux, I simply disagreed with the statement that most people are desperate to switch to Linux.

get some linux programmers to port it…

abbetd.5912:

…Day to day use is pretty straightforward, yes. Installation can also be pretty easy. Finding, downloading, and installing this party drivers for hardware components is what would, in my opinion, throw novice to average users off. With windows and mac, in the majority of cases, this is handled automatically. That is what most users want…

What drivers are problematic? I mean even AMD and Nvidia have useable drivers nowadays. The only problem i can see are mouse and keyboard drivers … which shouldn’t be that hard at all.

abbetd.5912:

The learning curve for Linux operating systems is more than most people want to deal with. I hate to use a cliche, but most people want a system that “just works”

I’ve got nothing against Linux, I simply disagreed with the statement that most people are desperate to switch to Linux.

I agree that most people are *’%&$%&( idiots when it comes to computers and just a minority is desperate to change to UNIX. But after all, people are lazy … they stick to the system that’s preinstalled.
Guess what? Most people give a kitten, if the system they use is UNIX, Windows or whatnot if it ‘just works’ and that is every System in the market right now, if it’s preinstalled …