9 Months And Still No UT3 Linux Client

[phoronix]

Phoronix: 9 Months And Still No UT3 Linux Client

It's been exactly nine months (or 274 days) since Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC was released. It was also exactly one year when we confirmed that UT3 would be released for Linux via a posting by Epic's VP, Mark Rein.However, last November when it was time for this much-anticipated first person shooter to be released, the Linux demo was MIA and the UT3 Linux server was promised in time for the game's release...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NjY2Mg

[deanjo]

Digg it!

http://digg.com/linux_unix/9_Months_And_Still_No_UT3_Linux_Client

[Chewi]

It goes without saying that this has been handled badly. I can't imagine what's taking them so long. Maybe they're trying extra hard to make sure everything is right. It would be nice for a piece of commercial Linux software to get that extra bit of QA that is so often missing but still... 9 months? I'm glad that there's still at least a glimmer of hope. In any case, I won't be able to play it until the Radeon R600 driver is ready.

[aaaantoine]

This is a lot like how they promised a demo for the original Unreal but never delivered.

At least I don't think they did.

I'm still rather bitter about that.

[deanjo]

This is a lot like how they promised a demo for the original Unreal but never delivered.

At least I don't think they did.

I'm still rather bitter about that.

It's probably "still being worked on" too.

[alexforcefive]

Do we care? Are we caring about this now?

I played the demo on windows. It's unremarkable in every way.

[kriko]

Probably it is not coming at all. There should be a demo or something at least.

[n0nsense]

My very personal opinion is:
If they don't want to make client for me, i'll not pay for the game.
I played demo on windows, it was nice, but i wont reboot to play it.
ET and ETQW providing enough online fun.

[Chewi]

This is a lot like how they promised a demo for the original Unreal but never delivered.

I know it doesn't make it okay but it is possible to play that on Linux if you also have UT. I recently did some work to make it compatible with UT451 and fixed some nasty bugs. My work is available for Gentoo Linux but unfortunately it hasn't been committed to the tree yet.

[Dragonlord]

Erm... you get things into the tree? Didn't manage this so far. Had to put my stuff in the Sunrise overlay ( pigs! )

[Chewi]

I've had various bits and pieces go into the tree over the years. I also have commit access to java-overlay. I think the reason they are reluctant to commit my Unreal stuff is because it relies on a totally new UT ebuild that I also wrote. It's a real monster but it fixes a lot of issues like the different versions (original, GOTY, Anthology), patching, different languages, and getting a clean copy from a Windows installation. I plan to commit it to Sunrise and coordinate a test on the forums but I haven't got round to it yet.

[numasan]

This reminds me of the linux development of Neverwinter Nights by Bioware. It was also promised as "a true cross-platform game" with Mac & Linux releases close to the Windows release. Right. NWN for linux was one year late, because apparently "cross-platform" means something different for established Windows developers. The trouble with NWN was the use of proprietary Windows-only codecs...

[Svartalf]

This reminds me of the linux development of Neverwinter Nights by Bioware. It was also promised as "a true cross-platform game" with Mac & Linux releases close to the Windows release. Right. NWN for linux was one year late, because apparently "cross-platform" means something different for established Windows developers. The trouble with NWN was the use of proprietary Windows-only codecs...

No... The "Windows-only" codecs weren't windows-only, RAD had stuff in beta at the time for Linux for Bink, but they couldn't get the silly stuff available quickly and they had a few issues grokking SDL initially. By the time they got it all straightened out and RAD had Bink ready, the window for it to be useful to spend the extra $5K to license Bink for Linux had passed so they didn't bother.

However, your points are right- most players in the industry don't think in terms of everything needing to be cross-platform for them to claim that title. To Bioware, before NWN, it meant the engine itself was mostly portable. Which was the case, really. To be honest, there wasn't much of a reason why KOTOR couldn't have been a Linux version as well, other than the bad taste they got with NWN and LucasArts not wanting it.

[Thetargos]

Even though I withdrew my pre-order of UT3, as soon as it is released for Linux, I'll buy it (and if it is a true Linux-only release for sale in TuxGames, I'll pick that up). At any rate, I want the money to speak for the Linux version and not the Windows version.

I remember back when Bioware were working on the Linux client for NWN, and when it was finally released. Even (due to the circumstances explained by Svartalf) if the game didn't have the movies, it was an amazing game, and one that provided me and many friends with endless hours of gaming. At some point I think that the Linux community of NWN was much bigger than the Windows and Mac communities, and I know that many Linux gamers still play it.

[xav1r]

...so dear Phoronix staff, can i please be the one to make the "1 year and still no ut3 linux client" thread?? :D:D

[Thetargos]

...so dear Phoronix staff, can i please be the one to make the "1 year and still no ut3 linux client" thread?? :D:D

No! You still have 3 months to go, but you bet you can create it on 12:00 am Nov. 19, though :D

[Forge]

No! You still have 3 months to go, but you bet you can create it on 12:00 am Nov. 19, though :D

He could make it now. It wouldn't make any difference in the end.

[me262]

Erm... you get things into the tree? Didn't manage this so far. Had to put my stuff in the Sunrise overlay ( pigs! )
I guess I should be lucky my BasiliskII-jit ebuild went into the main tree then. (That reminds me, I still have to test amd64.) Of course, it was broken and wouldn't compile when it was stable anyway.

The reason we play NWN still is that NWN2 is now Windows only. That and the obscenely large collection of mods and campaigns...

[TOGGI3]

Would anyone from Epic like to comment on this?.. a year has passed now.

WarTourist?

[deanjo]

Would anyone from Epic like to comment on this?.. a year has passed now.

WarTourist?

Did you miss the 1 year thread? http://www.phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13942

WarTourist is no longer with Epic.