Guild Wars 2

MehWhatever.1248:

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.

wars.2083:

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.

TheLaughingMan.4320:

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading.

TheLaughingMan.4320:

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

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

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

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

Anyway, thanks for reading.

kebaa.5147:

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

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

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

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

Best of luck!

MehWhatever.1248:

Leios.8965:

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

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

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

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

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

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

kamek.9538:

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

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

marnick.4305:

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

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

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

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

Anyways, thanks for reading.

degovernator.9043:

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

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

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

lorazcyk.8927:

I run Linux and the Gem store or Trade Post don’t work. If I could have the gem store in Linux, who knows, I might actually be able to give some money to ANet by buying gems.

https://github.com/PlayOnLinux/wine-patches/blob/master/GuildWars2/Awesomium.patch

This should fix the trading post for you (if I understood the problem correctly). It’s an easy fix on Arch thanks to the ABS.

Hope it helps!

MehWhatever.1248:

Leios.8965:

Interestingly enough, according to quite a few sources, Blizzard intends to release a linux game by the end of 2013. I don’t know if it will be a new game all together or just a port of an old one, but it’s still a step in the right direction (even if I’m not the biggest fan of Blizzard).

Just thought I’d throw that in there.

I’m pretty sure the only source for that Phoronix. I don’t trust Phoronix for ‘leaks’.

Eh. Fine. It was also on PCgamer, slashdot, etc. The point is that many other developers are porting, so it might be a good idea for Anet to do the same.

Interestingly enough, according to quite a few sources, Blizzard intends to release a linux game by the end of 2013. I don’t know if it will be a new game all together or just a port of an old one, but it’s still a step in the right direction (even if I’m not the biggest fan of Blizzard).

Just thought I’d throw that in there.

MehWhatever.1248:

Leios.8965:

Yeah, The mac port is technically an OpenGL port (by my standards anyway), even so, It could have been done better, from what I understand.

Well, it’s not exactly a port. More like a DirectX game wrapped in a (kitten-y) translation layer.

Eh, as I said, it’s not the greatest thing in the world, but I bet the mac beta still has better fps than wine. I would be content (but not pleased) if Anet just used cedega for linux users. Obviously the best option here is a true OpenGL port.

I am an Arch-user, myself. My system plays the game at 25-30 fps consistently, though I do not often play WvW. I am using an Nvidia Optimus chipset. That being said, there shouldn’t be any performance gains in my system over yours.

I would always argue that running wine without the playonlinux extension is more exciting, but that is just because I enjoy patching things myself. I hear playonlinux works fine too.

I would argue that your best bet is to just install it and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. If you have wine installed, all you have to do to see if it works is type into your terminal:

wine “/path/to/directory in windows/gw2.exe” -dx9single

Since you already have the game downloaded, there is no reason to redownload it for ubuntu.

hope it helps!

Yeah, The mac port is technically an OpenGL port (by my standards anyway), even so, It could have been done better, from what I understand.

aldariz.8169:

I’m fairly certain they already have an experimental linux client. Porting games to linux isn’t THAT hard, it’s mostly debugging and optimization. And considering they already have a mac client, well…

The point, though, is that they used Cider to port it to mac, which is not the optimal way to do it (as in it is not a true port, but it is a port nonetheless). Truth be told, though, I’m fine with the Cider port. On top of that, there is no evidence that a linux port is even being considered, especially because an interview a while back with the dev’s stated that a linux client was unlikely (along with their console plans, unfortunately). If a Dev came on here and said, “Yo, guys! We are working with an experimental linux client” or “Yo guys! We are not working on the client, but might consider working with WINE in the future” I would be content.

Now, they could use Cedega (which is the predecessor of Cider and for linux instead of mac), and I would be happy with that. Truth be told, I would be happy with the dev’s working with the Black Lion Trading Company and screenshots so they works with WINE without patching. Also, since they DO have an OpenGL port (mac), I would love to use my -opengl option while running the game instead of -dx9single. That would also be a solution.

Also, I had it in my mind that the porting to OGL was the heavylifting, the optimization, truth be told, shouldn’t be a big deal at all—especially because linux users are used to doing a lot of that themselves.

I’m sorry for all the text. It was mostly on accident.

First thing I’d do is port the game to linux, in other words, I would make an official (non-cedega/cider) OpenGL version of the game.

I would then add in GvG, Guild Halls, and better Alliances.

Finally, I would start dropping hints about what happened to Elona, Cantha, and the Far Shiverspeaks.

Watched it, finally (sorry pretty dang busy). It was posted on April 6th. For some reason, the link you posted still did not work, so I’m going to post the direct link to the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=btNVfUygvio#!

That being said, it was interesting (and expected) that the most difficult—if not only—problem to overcome was the D3D→OGL switch. I have recently heard that DX might not make it to DX 12, which might deter some developers, but since Anet is still using DX 9, I don’t think it will be that big of a deal.

Also, as an added point, I am worried that Win8 does not handle gaming as well as it should, a friend of mine had to switch back to Win7 to get Guild Wars 2 to play like it should have played on his system.

soulsuke.7913:

Just for the record: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTM0MzU

alright, I’m drawing a blank. Why did you link this thread to Phoronix? I frequent the site a lot for benchmarking and news, but I guess I missed the big picture.

I know, I know. The thread is pretty much dead at this point, but I would like to echo something that has been said before:

Anet could ask specific community members if they would like to be part of a “linux developer team,” where they take some of their free time to work on the code. Chances are that many members on this thread have experience coding and would love to help out with the project. If the project is done in segments, there is no way any single person would have access to the entirety of the code. I would actually be more than willing to help for a title (like “Ubuntu blue” or “Arch Apple” or something), and possibly something to put on my resume. “Guild Wars 2 Linux Developer” doesn’t sound too bad.

I realize I’m being somewhat idealistic here, but I thought I’d say throw it out there.

scirocco.9805:

Well I want a linux port now but I guess it will never happen just as when I played wow, but wow ran really great in Wine tho, gw2 does not. I need to overclock my computer to 4.7 ghz to get steady 30 fps with no drops, and the worst thing is that I cant type anything in game, as soon as I press enter to type something game crashes.

The chat error is probably due to running the game without the “-dx9single” tag in the terminal. Add that in and you should be able to talk in chat just fine! On top of that, if you are unable to use the trading post, try patching in the awesomium patch (as noted in WineHQ). The fps, sadly, does not get much better (I sit at a constant 25 fps, myself—a 20-ish fps drop from Windows).

Alent.4780:

MehWhatever.1248:

Here’s more data – 16% Linux vs. 6% Mac sales.

Come on ANet, you censored the link into non-functionality. How is s . ht an expletive… well ok I can kind of see it but that is really a reach. This kitten business is out of control.

Here is the operational link

Hm. That’s pretty useful information. If other developers have seen similar trends, there may be very good reason for a linux client. Once a few more AAA titles are on linux, I feel it will become the OS of choice for more and more gamers, but that’s just because of how much I adore my own PC.

So last night, I realized that the other thread had 10 pages worth of discussion. I had been following it for some time, along with searching for other linux-related posts for a while now. The fact of the matter is that we, as linux gamers, know we are at the bottom of the totem pole. Does that make sense to us? Not really, especially considering the statistics that have come out within the past months with steam sales. Regardless, we know that Anet is going to work on what they are going to work on, and that is not likely going to be a linux client (This is probably why there is so much QQ about it).

At the same time, I know that I would really like to help them with it (over the summer and such). It will take time and effort, but if they commission several experienced linux users to work with bits and pieces of the source code, it could be done. I do not think; however, that Anet does any opengl programming (simply because they are using Cider for mac). So it might be easier just to make the game a little easier to use with WINE.

No matter how it is done, we just need to keep the suggestion alive. Eventually Anet will get the picture.

That being said, threads where the old Linux V Windows debate starts up are not worth anyone’s time. Windows users realize the game is buggy enough as-is, thus there is no reason to caiter to 1% of the gaming population when there is still so much to be done. Linux users realize that they are being completely neglected as a community, and this saddens them. We’ve heard it before.

Honestly, if a single Anet employee would jsut get on these forums and say, “A linux client has been spoken of, but we have too much else to work on right now.” I would be content.

Nels the Cornwhisperer.8025:

Linux is, by it’s very nature, for people who don’t have, or don’t want to spend money. Not exactly the people you want to try to sell things to.

I beg to differ. Linux is an OS, like Windows or Mac. Most users buy their PC’s with a copy of Windows or Mac (both of which are already paid for and provided for the user). That being said, almost all linux users must remove (or partition) their primary OS in order to use it. There must, then, be some reason to switch other than the fact that it is free, because for most individuals their first OS came free to begin with. Here are the reasons I have found that people use linux:

1. It is the most efficient OS of the three primary OS’s in most cases.

2. It is the easiest OS to slip in and out of a coding environment with.

3. It can look and act in any way you choose. Heck, you can even code your own WM if you want.

4. 99% of servers run linux.

5. It is simple, and there is beauty in that simplicity.

6. It is fun to use.

7. It’s awesome.

Please note: I do not have a problem with Windows users or Mac users. That was not what this post was about. Rather, it was meant to inform you that linux users are not free hackers. They are real people who have real money but choose not to use it on an OS that is (to them) inefficient.

Nels the Cornwhisperer.8025:

Have you ever actually done the math on the most successful bundle ever? $8.60 USD per person. And that’s the best, with the help of amazing indie titles like Bastion…

…

The time and energy that would go in to a linux port would be very unlikely to show any kind of return at all, because no matter how you look at it, nothing has ever made good money running on linux.

I believe the point of the humble bundle post was to show that linux users will pay for games. In fact, the linux section on their pi graph of sales is often roughly the size of the Mac section. In that particular bundle, linux users donated $10.48 per bundle, whereas Mac users donated $7.95, and Windows users donated $6.23. I’m just sayin’. It happened.

To your final points: A linux port will make a return, but it will not likely be great. I know this, and most other linux users asking for a linux port know this. That being said, it is still an interesting talking point. I also know that I am a bit of a game-hog. If a game I don’t particularly like supports linux, I still usually support the game. I know there are quite a few other linux users who do the same. If they drum up the fact that GW2 is porting to linux, I am sure there will be a good number who support it.

Also, as I said before, 99% of servers run linux. They make good money. Linux users re actually sought after in the business environment for this reason (or so I’ve been told).

Sorry for the length. I tried to make it as easy of a read as possible.

Nels the Cornwhisperer.8025:

Mac is more important, because it’s a larger potential customer base than Linux. And maybe I’m biased, but what they should do is work on the Mac client and let everyone else jump off a bridge…

“Jump off a bridge,” you say? http://xkcd.com/1170/

In all seriousness, though, the strong desire for our community to port Guild Wars 2 to linux is not a superiority issue, but a visibility one. We don’t necessarily believe our preference is BETTER, but it is still our preference. For the most part, those who are making the arguement understand that by using a linux device, we have forfeited the rights to using a windows program (such as Guild Wars 2). The same argument can be applied to Mac users. Generally speaking, a true port to opengl would be beneficial on everyone’s end, including mac users.

I think, too, that Valve’s recent embrace of linux has helped linux users to be more vocal in their desires for true ports. If nothing else, a linux port is an interesting talking point.

Interstingly, the linux client is one of the hottest topics in the suggestion forum: (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/A-client-for-Linux). Feel free to take a gander at it, we are almost on the 10th page.

I would like to point out that a true port is not probable, and more than likely if a port does come of our efforts, it will be a simple cedega port (which is similar to the mac client’s cider port). The fact is that the Guild Wars 2 devs built off of GW1, which was known to have an awesome WINE port. A linux client is probably lower of their totem pole right now than the minstrel profession was.

Still, it’s a fun discussion topic.

I would defintiely be interested to see the estimated cost of porting GW2 to linux (To see if a kickstarter would even be worth it). Two estimates would be nice: one with Cedega, and another as a true port. Anet is most likely going to use Cedega to port their game (if they port it at all) regardless of what we say or do, but it would be nice to see the cost comparison.

I play Guild Wars 2 quite frequently on WINE. It works well enough in most cases. There are notably two bugs that require patching by the user: The Black Lion Trading Company cannot be used without the Awesomium patch, and screenshots don’t work without applying a particular patch found at WINEHQ. WINE will naturally try to run the game in OpenGL mode, you must tell it not to with the “-dx9single” tag at the end of your command to run the game (This will keep the game from crashing when you talk in chat). Also the FPS (for me) drops by about 10-20 from Windows in most areas. As a final tidbit: Load times are also increased when playing on linux.

That being said, the game runs, so I’m not complaining. I will say that I have noticed the game running a bit smoother on my end as of late. It isn’t perfect, mind you, but a consistent 25 FPS rather than a patchy 20 is fine by me. I consistently get 35 on Windows, though. That being said, is it worth it to play on linux? Generally, I think so, but that is simply because I am an Arch power-user who cannot dream of using a computer without a terminal handy (man, that’s the stuff of nightmares). If you are content using Windows: cool beans.

Not to make the post longer than it should be, but AMD/ATI cards are generally not as well supported as nVidia or intel. If you have an AMD/ATI card, don’t get your hopes up for a playable game. I hear the later cards are better supported now, but you might have much more (or less) trouble than I did depending on your graphics card.

danbuter.2314:

You can’t make a good linux client. Which distro? Which download format? What about every 6 months or so when everything is updated for all the major distros, which will probably break this game?

I have heard this concern a lot and am slightly off-put by it. Of course, then again, I use Arch. My system doesn’t break unless I authorize it to. To me, it doesn’t matter how they port the game. So long as they port it to a viable linux distribution, I can install the appropriate packages and it will work fine on my pc as well.

Even though I prefer Arch’s build system, ubuntu is the obvious port. It is the most popular, and valve has already lead the way on that distro. From there, the other distributions will port it to their own repositories, and that will be that.

I would like to mention that the question of “who to port to” does not seem (to me) to be as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be. Port to the most popular distro. If someone’s pc cannot play the game, it is his/her job, as a native linux user, to fix it.

Just my 2 cents. Again, this is from an Archie who only knows C++ and python, so take them or leave them as you will.

Oh man. The Guild Wars 1 mesmer. I miss so much about them:

Like Psychic Instability:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Psychic_Instability

Signet of Illusions:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Signet_of_illusions

Fevered Dreams:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Fevered_Dreams

How every player in PvP would do an awkward half-step around me when they saw me coming (some of them would just stop doing anything entirely).

How adding one to your party was a gamble because you didn’t know whether they were God-tier or n00b. There were no real in-betweens.

Oh, and the thing I miss most is my armor:
White Elite Elegant (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Fevered_Dreams) and Elite Canthan (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Gallery_of_male_mesmer_Elite_Canthan_armor).

Gaul. I’ve got to start Guild Wars 1 up again for nostalgia’s sake.

Why I play the sylvari:

When the “Races of Tyria” video came out (the second promo video for the game), Caithe had a quote, “Magic is not a tool, little one, it is a rhythm that unites us in it’s current.” Since then I was sold on the race. Even before that though, after finishing Eye of the North, I was intensely interested in the new race of Tyria and knew I would probably be playing them.

On the Guild Wars 2 Guru, I created a thread about the sylvari design, and after 300 pages of talk, their current design was unveiled. Man I love their current design. I don’t know if an Anet dev read any of that thread or not, but theorycrafting what the race should look like was a lot of fun.

Tyler.7168:

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/133824-valve-opengl-is-faster-than-directx-even-on-windows

Seems like a pretty good article on DirectX vs OpenGL and why we aren’t using all OpenGL games these days.

I have been looking into it a bit. It seems most indie developers and those who are learning to code games nowadays go for opengl. The AAA developers seem to prefer directX, and that kinda makes sense.

Indies need everyone they can to buy their game, so the 5% of players using linux and 15% using mac will be helpful—especially because those platforms are more indie-oriented.

AAA developers are typically mre old-school and need something that is stable and works. They have been using DirectX for a good while. They know they can sell games off of it and they know how it works. No reason to switch saddles if you know the horse you’ve got.

That being said. I feel if the pace keeps up, Opengl will be the API of choice in the next few years.

PS: the percentages were made up.

To clarify, there is an almost 10-page thread in the suggestion forum about this:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/A-client-for-Linux/first.

It was moved to the suggestion forum by an Anet moderator. That being said, I remember reading a quote not too long ago. Apparently a linux client HAS been talked about, but it is not a priority.

a few notes:

1. They are using Cider to port to mac, which is not a true Opengl port. This means the port will be suboptimal, but it should work well enough for most mac players. In my mind, this means that Anet does not currently have many developers who know how to use Opengl. Thus Guild Wars 2 on linux is not going to be a reality for a while.

2. Wine works with GW2. Granted, there is a 20 fps drop and the market doesn’t work without a patch, but it works. It also worked nearly flawlessly with the first game. What does this mean? Anet still thinks they have their bases covered with linux. Why port to a platform that already has the game running?

3. In the suggestion forums, it is by far the hottest topic. After the introduction of windows 8 and valve’s switch to linux more individuals are trying to learn about this quircky OS. I would argue that eventually there will be a linux port, but not this year, or maybe even the next, but the potential is there—if we play our cards right.

4. Blizzard’s WoW has a linux port. Many other AAA devs are porting to it.

5. Anet could potentially give the linux community bits and pieces of their source code and have them port the game for them. This would not be too far of a stretch

Sorry for the long post. TLDR: There is another thread with a bunch of solutions. Check it out. No linux port probable, though.

Alright a few more points:

1. Blizzard already has a port of WoW, and definitely agrees with Gabe. Linux might be worth their time (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTE0ODE).

2. Valve is coming out with their Linux-run steam box, and Guild Wars 1 is already on steam. It might be beneficial to attempt a port to put on steam for this reason alone, especially considering the console-friendly nature f Guild Wars 2.

3. Porting Guild Wars 2 to linux is a daunting task, we all understand this; Guild Wars 1, however, might be easier. The game is still running and I definitely play it quite often. Why not use the game as a sandbox of sorts to see if a true linux port is feasible? Given the strongly instanced nature fo that game, it might be a considerably easier port. I do not know whether it will breathe new life into the game, but I know that I, for one, would be willing to attempt a linux port of the game if given the source code(as few year long summer project, that is).

4. Linux gamers are an odd bunch. They will never pay a single dime for their OS, but if there is a game out and it ports to linux, they support it. I ended up buying $50 worth of games I would never play just because they had a linux port this weekend. I am sure there are quite a few other linux gamers who do the same thing.

And that’s all for now. Please stay tuned for the next installment of “We are Man. Linux for Life.”

Well, as far as video game statistics are concerned, I would like to point out that linux users, though almost always pay more per user for the humble indie bundles:

http://www.humblebundle.com/

In this particular bundle, linux users donated $10.48 per bundle, whereas Mac users donated $7.95, and Windows users donated $6.23. If you check out the pi chart at the bottom of the page, you’ll see that even though linux users may be only a small fraction of the market share, they are close to the Mac value donated total and definitely worth some consideration. I would also like to point out that I, as a linux user, always support software that I like. I do not steal games or hack myself into restricted areas. I know the worth of a good piece of software. On top of that, if there is software that is ported properly to linux, I am usually even more supportive of it.

In the case of GW1, I used the cash shop regularly to purchase nifty costumes. In GW2, though, I had to patch WINE to even pull up the trading post, and am unable to even talk in chat if I don’t have the “-dx9single” tag. Interestingly enough, my machine runs at 5-10 fps faster without the tag, it just happens to crash every time I try to type anything. I also have a texture issue with my WINE edition, if I change my equipment (or dye) but do not also map travel, the colors do not change in my viewing window. I am sure there is a way to fix this, but I settled to just switch to my Windows drive (which is, of course, only on my system for GW2), to create characters, and then return to linux whenever else I wanna play the game.

As a side note, if any of you linux lovers want an interesting talk (that I happened to greatly), check out this video entitled “Why Linux Sucks,” and it’s follow-up, “Why Linux Doesn’t Suck.” It is DEFINITELY worth your time!

Anet, if you are reading this, know that GW2 is playable for me, but I often times settle to play GW1 instead simply because it works on my system phenomenally well without me having to switch OS’s. I ask that you take time to consider linux, even if it takes a year to develop, I sure would appreciate it, and I’m sure the rest of the community would too. All I want to know now is if Anet is hearing us. A definite “yes” or “no” would be really nice. Even if the answer to a linux port is, “not being considered at this time,” I would be content.

Sorry for the long post.

EDIT: Accidental doublepost.

Here is the follow-up video, “Why Linux Doesn’t Suck”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfLqLK7VdQY

Guys, we should all stop wearing leg armor when playing guild wars 2 on a linux box, it could be called “Legless for Linux.” Eventually Anet will become so sick and tired of seeing our naked bums that they will have to port it!

Seriously though. If Anet could port the game, I would be incredibly greatful. As a Linux user, I understand that we are low on the totem pole and everything, but… Since Nightfall fell, I’ve been using WINE. I Kinda feel a bit tipsy because of it.

Arch-user here in support of Anet’s port to linux.