Wishlist for Porting Projects (Pt. 2)

[Svartalf]

Well...

Over 110 PAGES of posts later (whoa...) and we've got an amazing list of possible leads- and an effort that actually did much more than I'd hoped for. I'm a bit busy in my day job and I'm chasing down a few issues with the titles I've got obligations on so the lead list will be started back on shortly. As it stands, we've got one on contract (stalled though...) and one complete game as a result of this thread. It should be noted that the position on the list is the present order I'm envisioning assessing, talking to studios, etc. on the list for myself (Or in the case of the dead titles, the likelyhood for it never happening...).

Place your requests for porting projects and germane discussions on the same here in the current part of the thread. Please try to keep it MOSTLY on topic so we can use the thread for discussion and dickering about the potential projects. Keep 'em coming, guys!


Ground Rules:

The title HAS to be a practical one. The rights holder HAS to be reachable in some manner. The rights holder has to be at least NOT openly hostile towards Linux use (That means Dungeon Siege is right out... ). AAaaand the rights holder has to have the source code in HAND in it's entirety and be willing to allow a port.

I can help with some projects, but not others. I am NOT going into competition with LGP on publishing or running counter to their porting efforts. I am still under contract for some things and there are business dealings and projects that I kind of need to maintain a good relationship with them for now.

Some suggestions will entail money. Unless someone ponies it up or can manage to pass the hat for it (Unless there's a business involved, though, you're going to find that this will be nigh impossible right at the moment...) there can be no ports of that specific game unless you sell the rights holder on the idea of them doing it themselves.

Don't be too hurt if your suggestion is shot down for any problems with above items.

With that... The floor's open.


[EDIT]

Here's a list of the current prospects and dead ends as of today (11/18/2009) as I've tabulated them up to this point- there may be new ones lurking in the thread and some stragglers in the thread that precipitated this one that I'm in the process of doing the initial checking on.

I'm listing the dead ends first. Keep in mind that these are all in this list for problems with availability of source code or rights access. Some of these were mentioned as dead ends out of the gate by one of the posters in the thread or, under review, were determined by myself to be non-practical requests. If, for some reason, you've got a lead on changing the status on the dead ends, speak up in the thread or PM me (As an example, I offer each and every one of Interplay's back catalog, including things such as Kingpin, Freespace2, etc. as we had someone point us in the direction of Good Old Games, who has current publication rights to Interplay's stuff and have indicated that they're not against the idea, but are understaffed to accomplish the work...)... I'll be putting up more edits to this post as I tabulate all the requests. We've got a nifty list and I need to follow up on some of the realistic ones. Keep the realistic suggestions coming, gang.

Dead Ends:

Anything from Microsoft Game Studios (There's a DUH moment...)
Anything from Atari/Infogrames (They've shown us consistent disdain for a while now...if I see contrary evidence...)
No One Lives Forever (Lithtech - No Lithtech engine games are practical right at the moment...)
Psychonauts (After finding out what Majesco did to at least one studio, we don't want to deal with them...ever...sorry...)
Wing Commander (EA property...code's likely to not be available at this point with Origin effectively defunct...)
Oblivion (Prime AAA title- not without loads of cash... )
Morrowind (Ditto...)
Portal (Any of the Valve stuff's up in the air- someone may well be doing all of Orange Box and Steam...)
Diablo
Diablo II
StarCraft
StarCraft II
Diablo III (Gimme a break, guys... This isn't a pie in the sky list...)
KotOR
KotOR 2 (Not that anyone would WANT that title... )
Any of the GTA titles.
America's Army (We HAD a version of this guys, but the DoD decided it was not a big enough payoff...)
System Shock (Studio defunct- no clear title to code known, nor do we know if it's available at all...)
System Shock II (Ditto...)
Rise of the Triad (Ryan already beat us to it...go over to icculus.org if you've got the assets. )
Call of Duty 4
Unreal Tournament 3 (Uh, supposedly Epic's still working on this...)
Bussimulator
Syndicate I
Syndicate II
Syndicate Wars
Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Any title from the Tom Clancy series
Stargunner
Any of the Lemmings versions
Dragon Age (If there is going to be a version, it'll be up to EA and Bioware...)
STALKER
Masters of Orion 1 or 2
Slamtilt (Actually, ANY of the 21st Century Entertainment titles are this way...)
Interstate 76
SimCity (Already GPLed and out under the name "Metropolis" in all of it's ancient glory...)
Neverwinter Nights 2 (Atari published property- need I say more?)
Jedi Knights II
Jedi Academy
ST:Armada
ST:Elite Force
ST:Elite Force II
Max Payne (Anything, really, from out of Remedy Entertainment because of close ties with Microsoft... )
Dawn Of War and expansions
Harpoon III (Initial Contacts made, looked promising...then it fizzled for no apparent reasons...)
The Longest Journey
Dreamfall- The Longest Journey
Aquaria (Ryan's porting it..)
And Yet It Moves (They're doing it themselves...if they run into a snag, I'll offer help, but...)
ARMA (For now...)


Maybes:

Anything that was ported by the former Loki Games (It's been tried by LGP in the past when they were starting...)
Soldier of Fortune II
Gothic 3
IL-2 Sturmovik
Project Offset
Grand Prix Legends
Sam and Max Episodes
Deus EX (Hinges on finding someone with the old Loki codebase that'll be able to grant publication rights)
Deus EX 2
Age of Wonders
FlatOut 2
Battlerealms
Rome: Total War
Tale Worlds (Some DRM concerns there...)
GTR2 (10tacle in recievership- need to find out who is studio, etc...)
Crysis (Initial contact made...we'll see...)
Falcon 4 (Initial contact made...no word back from them...)
CivIV
(Moved to the "maybe" list because there's no clear title to what we have in hand...checking into it, but
for right now, don't hold your breath...)
Witchaven I
Witchaven II
Powerslave
Witcher (Since Namco's now the publisher for anything CDProjekt does, it's a longshot maybe...)
Merchants of Brooklyn (It's a Crytek 2 engine game...makes it a "maybe" at best...)
Any of the Need for Speed titles.
Puzzle Quest
Secret Files: Tunguska and Puritas Cordis
Battlefield: Vietnam, 2 and Battlefield Heroes
Colin MacRae Dirt
Sensible Soccer 2006


Being Looked Into:

Natural Selection 2
Cortex Command
Torchlight
Freespace 2 (We've got code- need to get rights for assets for commercial release if possible...)
Descent 3 (Someone's got access to the code and we just need to talk to Interplay and GoG...)
Industry Giant II
PopCap's game framework and PopCap's games themselves.
Book of Unwritten Tales
A Vampyre Story
Braid
Kivi's Underworld
Mechanarium
Achron
Project Aftermath
Hinterland
The Path
Drakensang
Civilization IV
HoverRace (Clean up initial port...)
Raptor
Soldat
rFactor
Sins of a Solar Empire
Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum (EECH - Source code being looked at...)
Grotesque
Audiosurf
Track Mania
Earth 2150
Escape Velocity Series
Alpha Centauri
CivIII
Kingpin
Redneck Rampage Series
Freespace
Fallout
Fallout 2
Hostile Waters: Anteus Rising
Urban Warfare Online
Chessmaster 11
Beyond Good and Evil
The Maw



Deals Closed and/or in Development

Europa Universalis Engine (EU, EU2, etc...)


Projects now shipping

Caster

[RealNC]

I'll mention Chessmaster 11 by Ubisoft again since it's not on the list.

[whizse]

I'll mention The Maw (http://www.mawgame.com/) again, just in case you missed it from the other thread.

[sobkas]

I won't mention "Beyond Good and Evil" by Ubisoft.
Which is now on gog (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beyond_good_and_evil)

But I will definitely mention(again) "The Longest Journey" and "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey"
There was a thread (http://forums.longestjourney.com/showpost.php?p=16382&postcount=2) stating that there are no plans for linux support, gladly it is so old that everyone should just ignore it.
But even now and then (http://forums.longestjourney.com/showthread.php?t=2736&highlight=linux) there might be enough need and willingness to make linux port happen.

[Aradreth]

Kivi's Underworld (http://www.soldak.com/Kivis-Underworld/Overview.html) is a 3D hack 'n' slash RPG with both a windows and a Mac client. Might be worth looking into.

[Aradreth]

I won't mention "Beyond Good and Evil" by Ubisoft.
Which is now on gog (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beyond_good_and_evil)
You just did, and I'm glad you did because that game is awesome! ;)

[rettichschnidi]

Maybe worth to look into: http://www.book-of-unwritten-tales.com/

The German version is already out and got good reviews (85%+) The game states to use the Ogre engine.

[Milyardo]

Well...

America's Army (We HAD a version of this guys, but the DoD decided it

Caster

There were many reasons why the Army ended support for their Mac and Linux clients, but" not being worth it" was not one of them(the trolls on their forums like to use that though).

[Svartalf]

I'll mention The Maw (http://www.mawgame.com/) again, just in case you missed it from the other thread.

I knew I'd missed something... :D

It's on the maybe list right at the moment. Don't know how receptive Twisted Pixel's going to be or what the deals are on Maw, 'splosion Man, etc. since they're on XBox Live...

[Svartalf]

There were many reasons why the Army ended support for their Mac and Linux clients, but" not being worth it" was not one of them(the trolls on their forums like to use that though).

Actually, it was an amount of return on effort (Stated reason they were discontinuing paying for the support...)- which means that they didn't feel it was returning the results that they were paying for. If they felt that it was worth the money, they would have continued it since it's an Ad for the US Army to begin with.

Having said this, they're contemplating renewing the support deal for us, from what I understand- but it's a closed subject as it's the DoD that makes that decision, no matter how you want to view the statement I made there. And they made that decision a long while back.

[King InuYasha]

I haven't seen anyone suggest it, maybe its because this crowd may not be so much into this kind of game, but I would like to see the Harry Potter games ported to Linux.

Unfortunately, the Sixth game is to be released at the end of June, so I doubt it would be done in time unless you were working round the clock for 30 days straight... so meh. As we can see with the UT3 client, its unlikely it would get done that quickly, but still, I would love for the games to be available on Linux.

EDIT: Looking around for info on the Harry Potter games, I found out that the first two probably used a modified version of the first Unreal Engine. The third one probably used a modified version of Unreal Engine 2. I'm not sure what the rest of them used.

[Svartalf]

Maybe worth to look into: http://www.book-of-unwritten-tales.com/

The German version is already out and got good reviews (85%+) The game states to use the Ogre engine.

It is worth checking into. The screenshots look good.

[Svartalf]

I haven't seen anyone suggest it, maybe its because this crowd may not be so much into this kind of game, but I would like to see the Harry Potter games ported to Linux.

Unfortunately, the Sixth game is to be released at the end of June, so I doubt it would be done in time unless you were working round the clock for 30 days straight... so meh.

EDIT: Looking around for info on the Harry Potter games, I found out that the first two used the first Unreal Engine. The third one used Unreal Engine 2. I'm not sure what the rest of them used.

Probably modified versions of the UE2 codebase. Let me think about where to place this set. I'm inclined to think "maybe", but we as an audience for them, aren't big enough in their estimation (wrong, I know, but...) to rate getting a deal like that. Getting ANY of those translates into a high 5, low 6-figure license deal for the IP access unless you can find someone to open doors for us on that one.

[Remco]

Are Eidos games a possibility?

Tomb Raider series (Eidos)
Hitman series (Eidos)

Ballance (http://www.ballance.org/) (Atari, but looks indy-ish)

Old games now owned by EA might be a no-go, but maybe that's not true:

Dungeon Keeper series (Bullfrog, now EA)
Dune series (Westwood, now EA)

[Svartalf]

I won't mention "Beyond Good and Evil" by Ubisoft.
Which is now on gog (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beyond_good_and_evil)


On the list as a "maybe". Any of the mainline publisher stuff's going to be a fun play in the medium term. Ubi's going to be no exception to that unless you can get your foot in the door there. We've already had a start of an inquiry with 2k that didn't propagate far. It wasn't a "no" but unless you're talking 5 figures or more for just rights access, depending on title, you're not getting anywhere fast- might change over time, but now's not that time.


But I will definitely mention(again) "The Longest Journey" and "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey"
There was a thread (http://forums.longestjourney.com/showpost.php?p=16382&postcount=2) stating that there are no plans for linux support, gladly it is so old that everyone should just ignore it.
But even now and then (http://forums.longestjourney.com/showthread.php?t=2736&highlight=linux) there might be enough need and willingness to make linux port happen.

Funcom's disinclined, still, to do things for us. If I can get a bit more traction on things with the looking into list, I'll revisit that decision because those games are nice ones all the same.

[b15hop]

Out of all the Maybe's and being looked into games, I'm interested in these games:



Freespace
Freespace 2 (I loved these games, esp in multiplayer)
Fallout
Fallout 2 (curious if this could be re done with a new 2D engine?)
Civilization IV
Alpha Centauri (Own both the windows and linux version. Would be awesome if a new engine could be used, possibly the civ4 engine?)
Sins of a Solar Empire (haven't played but looks interesting)
Soldat
Crysis (to prove to the world that "linux can do it.")
FlatOut 2 (have this game it's awesome)
Rome: Total War
Deus EX (already own this game, don't know what ever happened to it, maybe it could be ported using a newer 3D engine and higher detail textures?)

I notice Civ4 is in the maybe section as well as the being looked into section?

I had to put my 2c in because I'm sure you would want to know what the gamers / customers want?

[joshuapurcell]

I have two requests that have not been mentioned yet as far as I can see:

1. Darkfall Online - this is a MMO released by Aventurine, which is a Greek company who has said previously that while they are very open to the idea of a Linux port, they couldn't focus on it at this time. I actually really like this MMO, and a majority of the playerbase seems to be ex Ultima Online players and FPS players who have been looking for a MMO that isn't like the cookie cutter WoW types we've been getting lately. I currently run this game on Crossover with great success and I've become an advocate for the game on their site to help other with running this game on Linux.

http://www.darkfallonline.com/
http://www.aventurine.gr/

2. X3 - Gold Edition (or X3: Terran Conflict) - Now this may be considered stepping on LGP's toes in some way but I'm not sure. I've purchased X3: Reunion from LGP and it is hands down the best Linux port I have ever played. I'd be playing this game regardless of what platform it is on, and it is made that much better because it has a Linux version. Now I see that Egosoft has a followup game called X3: Terran Conflict that has been released for a while as well as a complete package called X3: Gold Edition which contains all expansions and some additional content. I'd really like to have all this available on Linux for me to play, and seeing as a portion of this package has already been released on Linux may mean that this is a very real possibility.


Thanks for taking the time to look into all these games to see if they can be ported to Linux.

[MisterIO]

I'd have said Kotor and The Witcher, but I saw they're already on the list. What about The Godfather? That's a good title. And X3? Any of the Red Alert or Command and Conquer? Vampire The Masquerade : Redemption? Vampire The Masquerade : Bloodlines? Drakensang(when it'll be out)?

P.S. : One suggestion. I'd suggest that the ports should be distributed at least in the .deb and .rpm formats. The .bin distribution is a PITA. There are tools to ease the pain, but it's better to have the packages in a good format from the beginning.

[L4Linux]

Pro Evolution Soccer (PES)!:D
Soccer is not very popular in USA, but in Europe many users like me would simply erase their windows partition if they could play PES on Linux.
FIFA Soccer wouldn't be bad at all, either.:)

Europeans, South Americans and Asians just love Soccer, more than any other sport.

[gilboa]

From the list above, I'm interested in the following games (read: Meaning to put the money up-front, and even participate in the beta program):

* IL-2 Sturmovik.
* Crysis. (Doubt that it'll ever going to happen, but never the less...)
* Civilization IV.
* Sins of the solar empire.
* Freespace II.

Out of the list, two additional options:
* Worms series.
* Ubisoft's Ghost recon series. (Older games should be relatively cheap to gain access to; Some of them were ported to MAC, so the code-base should be there...)
* Ubisoft's Rainbow Six series. (Same as above).
* Ubisoft's FarCry. (1 should be cheaper, shouldn't it?)
... Oh, X3:TC is not in the list. Intended?

- Gilboa

[numasan]

Book of unwritten tales looks really good! Nice art style and lots of detail, plus I miss a good adventure game :)
I can't see why it shouldn't exist on linux since it uses the Ogre engine?


I can't think of any games I'd wish for right now, but I'm glad you are doing this Svartalf.

[Gimzo]

Rollcage and SubCommand / Dangerous Waters are not on the list :)
From the maybe list, I vote for audiosurf and trackmania.

[powered_by_tux]

Civilization III Complete for Linux would be so sweet! :D

Oh, and a port of Age of Empires III + Addons would be a definite buy for me.

There already exist Mac OS X ports of both games. Does this ever increase the chance of Linux ports?

[MaestroMaus]

Civilization III Complete for Linux would be so sweet! :D

Oh, and a port of Age of Empires III + Addons would be a definite buy for me.

There already exist Mac OS X ports of both games. Does this ever increase the chance of Linux ports?

Age of Empires is made by Microsoft Game Studios...

[ZedDB]

How's it going with Natural Selection 2?
They are already taking preorders! However they don't have mac or linux under supported operating systems. Which is understandable as they haven't begun porting it yet. It would be really great if the linux client would be ready by the time of the release! :)
But they seem really open to the idea of a linux/mac client as I pointed out in my post in the previous thread with links ;)

[TomTasche]

I would love to play Anno on Linux :)

[Odin]

First I want to thank you, Svartalf, for putting that much effort in linux gaming.

If you need any help with testing or contacting german publishers, don't hesitate to contact me. :D

[[Knuckles]]

Old games now owned by EA might be a no-go, but maybe that's not true:

Dungeon Keeper series (Bullfrog, now EA)
Dune series (Westwood, now EA)

Especially Emperor: Battle for Dune. That was such a great game.
I was very sorry that EA decided to kill the online component so soon.

[r1348]

What about the Myst saga? Cyan has recently open-sourced Uru so they seem sensible to this kind of business. Also, they need money.

I'd love seeing Atrus on my Fedora box!

[pmorph]

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (and Alien Crossfire) are on my wishlist (IIRC an AC port existed once, but don't know what happened to it).

PS. Maybe it was already discussed (didn't read the other thread), but Freespace2 engine has already been ported and works perfectly well on linux; you only need to purchase the Windows version from GOG and get the engine from the "Hard Light Productions" site.

[Aradreth]

Fallout 2 (curious if this could be re done with a new 2D engine?)
...
Alpha Centauri (Own both the windows and linux version. Would be awesome if a new engine could be used, possibly the civ4 engine?)
...
Deus EX (already own this game, don't know what ever happened to it, maybe it could be ported using a newer 3D engine and higher detail textures?)
[/LIST]

Redoing the textures/improving the engine would be a huge job and isn't something that is likely to happen.

PS. Svartalf posts should be pages in your first post. 110 posts isn't all that impressive. :p

[BlackStar]

How about the upcoming Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2?

Both are games that could make a difference, taking into account their following. They also contain OpenGL renderers for their MacOS port, which means a port could be relatively simple. (I also think one of the main contributors to SDL works for Blizzard, which may or may not be relevant here :) )

[DavidNielsen]

One of the games I had the most fun playing ever was a game called Crusader: No Remorse (a sequel is also available called Crusader: No Regrets). They were at the time created by Origin (as I remember this is an EA division so that already bodes badly) but I am unaware of the current ownership. It's a 1995 game though so anyone still carrying the source around might be hard to find. I will still happily pay to play that game again though (DOSbox might be my best option as I just found the CD again).

Additionally the classic Ground Control would be an amazing thing to revisit on my Linux desktop, I never played the sequel but I will take that one as well. A 2000 game originally by Massive Entertainment and distributed by Sierra. I would add this is the most innovative RTS game I have ever played, at the time it came out it blew away anything else. I dearly miss this one.

Outside of that there is a whole host of old Sierra adventure games I would love to see on Linux, I am a sucker for a good adventure game and they always made good ones.

If the old Fallout 1 and 2 games come through, sign me up for a copy now. These are by far the best RPG games every created for the PC, still not up to the standard of a pnp game but the world was so amazing.

[Licaon]

P.S. : One suggestion. I'd suggest that the ports should be distributed at least in the .deb and .rpm formats. The .bin distribution is a PITA. There are tools to ease the pain, but it's better to have the packages in a good format from the beginning.
see this first: http://lunduke.com/?p=429 :)

i, for one, don't really care about the distribution method as long as the game exists :)
.bin/.run files are universal = better, imo

[rah_]

Hi everyone,

I thought it might be interesting to take a poll of the "Being looked into" list to see which titles are most popular. I've created a poll here:

http://www.doodle.com/tx6v4gxbzq2y39pu

It isn't the clearest page on account of the number of titles but it will suffice, I think.

Bob Ham

[Aradreth]

How about the upcoming Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2?

Both are games that could make a difference, taking into account their following. They also contain OpenGL renderers for their MacOS port, which means a port could be relatively simple. (I also think one of the main contributors to SDL works for Blizzard, which may or may not be relevant here :) )
Please read the list in the first post as both D3 and Starcraft 2 are there.

[Aradreth]

Hi everyone,

I thought it might be interesting to take a poll of the "Being looked into" list to see which titles are most popular. I've created a poll here:

http://www.doodle.com/tx6v4gxbzq2y39pu

It isn't the clearest page on account of the number of titles but it will suffice, I think.

Bob Ham
It's not a question of what we want to have ported but what we are allowed to port.

[jsa1983]

I see you are considering Transport Giant II. What about Industry Giant II? Both are from same publisher (JoWood) and for the screenshots seem to use the same engine.

Other game I like is Hotel Giant II. Its an interesting game.

Keep the good work. :cool:

[rah_]

It's not a question of what we want to have ported but what we are allowed to port.

This post doesn't make clear what "it" is. I'm curious as to which games in that list are more popular than others. A poll might also help to prioritise the efforts of seeking permission.

[Apopas]

Actually shoot em ups and such are a lot for Linux. Linux lacks on RPG and adventure games.

[Kano]

Do you mean the DOS game Raptor in your list? Did you update caster 3d already?

[Pietr]

Counter-Strike: Source ?

The steam platform would probably need to be ported as well for this, so it's a long shot.

Edit: oops, just read this from the start post 'Any of the Valve stuff's up in the air- someone may well be doing all of Orange Box and Steam...'.

[pprkut]

I would really love to see SpellForce (http://www.spellforce.com/) ported to Linux. There were various discussions about it in the past in it's own forum, which all ended up in Linux vs. Windows discussions :/
It was developed by Phenomic and published by JoWood.

[KhaaL]

Civ4 and rome:total war would make me wet myself if they'd exist natively under linux (specially the latter). IL-2 and Gothic 3 are also _excellent_ games :-)

Regarding Europa universalis, might we see rome vae victis aswell?

By the way, while you're looking into sins of a solar empire, please look into galactic civilizations 2 + its addons. its from the same company.

Great to see this effort to port games! :-)

[Linux-user]

I'd really like to see The Book of Unwritten Tales being released for Linux. I think it's possible to get this game to Linux.

The game uses the Ogre engine, which is also used in games from Deck13 (the Ankh series and Jack Keane) which are also ported to Linux.

The developers of The Book of Unwritten Tales also said it's possible to see a release for Mac OS or Linux in the future.
http://games4mac.de/content_g4m/meldung.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=7495
So it looks like they're willing to port this game to Linux.


A release of A Vampyre Story for Linux would also be nice.


I'd also like to see more games like Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Painkiller, NecroVision and the upcoming RAGE, Wolfenstein and Doom 4 being released for Linux. Of course without having to buy the Windows version.


Actually shoot em ups and such are a lot for Linux. Linux lacks on RPG and adventure games.

That's true for free games, but not for commercial games.

There are a lot of free first person shooters (mostly multiplayer), but I don't know of any free adventure game for Linux.

The only commercial first person shooter I know is Postal 2: Share the Pain. Runesoft has released Ankh, Ankh 2 and Jack Keane for Linux.

True, we also have Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein and Prey, but you still have to buy the Windows version (there are real Linux versions of some Quake games, but these are old and impossible to get nowadays).

Speaking about real commercial Linux releases there are more adventures than first person shooters.

[Flynn]

- How about any of the older (Porsche, High Stakes) or more recent (Carbon) editions of Need for Speed? I haven't found any NFS title on the list.

- Trackmania Sunrise or newer (only the older original is on the list)

- Puzzle Quest

- Secret Files: Tunguska & Puritas Cordis

- Battlefield: Vietnam, 2 and Battlefield Heroes

- An improved version of Ascendancy

[bugmenot]

Looking at opensource 3d engines i found:
Panda3d
- Vampire Story

Ogre3d
- Salvation Prophesy
- Venetica
- MOTORM4X
- SteamPunk Legends
- Haunted
- Tunnel Racer
- HCA : The Ugly Prince Duckling
- Sector 13
- Soshiant

[Pietr]

- How about any of the older (Porsche, High Stakes) or more recent (Carbon) editions of Need for Speed? I haven't found any NFS title on the list.


Yeah I second that. I would also be happy to see any of these on the list.

[L33F3R]

i would be happy for any decent racing game :)

[Odin]

Sacred 2 anyone? :D

[Svartalf]

Fallout
Fallout 2 (curious if this could be re done with a new 2D engine?)


Possibly. The 2D engine they did have was adequate as it was, but FIFE handles the assets well. If I did get rights I'd look at both and see which will get better results quicker.


Civilization IV
Alpha Centauri (Own both the windows and linux version. Would be awesome if a new engine could be used, possibly the civ4 engine?)


CivIV's a 2K Games title. One of the forum members had an initial discussion with them over it and there's a willingness to allow it "with a serious business plan". That usually translates into dollars up-front with planned release schedules, etc. I'm pretty sure I don't have the resoruces for THAT sort of deal yet. Having said this, AC was ported by Loki (and well at that) to Linux and according to what'd been done, they released that source tree back to Firaxis. One could concievably try to talk to them if you're a developer to see if they'd be okay with a respin being done and published through LGP or someplace like Greenhouse. It's on my planned list that I hopefully will get to towards the latter part of the year.


Crysis (to prove to the world that "linux can do it.")


Heh... Unengine seems to do a pretty good job of that- but I'd concur on your sentiment. Unfortunately Crytek, while they're not unreceptive, aren't exactly receptive either. It's another one of those things I intend on following up on later.


I had to put my 2c in because I'm sure you would want to know what the gamers / customers want?

Yep. And that's part of what this discussion is about.

[Svartalf]

Sacred 2 anyone? :D

Ahem... You read the rules... :D

I've no impact on what does/does not get ported by LGP. I only am a developer consultant for them in the first place and I'm off task, waiting for final release on one title and doing a bit of problem clean up for another right at the moment.

I know you're mostly kidding, but if you want Sacred 2, you're going to have to be good folks and buy Sacred Gold. It's been done quite well and I've been enjoying the purchase I'd made a while back. (Yes, I have to buy the titles I didn't have a hand in the making or maintenance thereof...) What was told to me is sequels are a subject of discussion with studios and publishers- but only if there's a sound enough deal for the first title.

[Svartalf]

Do you mean the DOS game Raptor in your list? Did you update caster 3d already?

Yeah, I meant that one... It's low hanging fruit.

As for Caster3D, we found the issue and we were seeing if any other gotchas bubbled out before releasing. Unless I see something else obnoxious, I'm cutting installers for demo and full version today.

[rah_]

Just to say explicitly, I'd be very interested in Earth 2150 and the sequel, Earth 2160.

[curaga]

First, how about the older Leisure Suit Larry games?

Then, the strategy game Stars! ?
It was released for win 3, is 16-bit code, and required a rather old compiler to even build. Would it be too much work to port?
Assuming one can find the email of one of the Jeffs, original source hasn't been deleted, and porting it shouldn't require up-front cost either. Just not sure of their view about it.

[Elryhm]

Well, I didn't see this on the list, and I didn't read the whole thread... so be gentle. :( But I would like to see Fable: The Lost Chapters come to Linux. I think it's a nice combination of graphics and gameplay. I don't know how well Lionhead looks upon Linux, though...

[Kano]

Well i liked Raptor, was fun long time ago...

[Svartalf]

Then, the strategy game Stars! ?
It was released for win 3, is 16-bit code, and required a rather old compiler to even build. Would it be too much work to port?
Assuming one can find the email of one of the Jeffs, original source hasn't been deleted, and porting it shouldn't require up-front cost either. Just not sure of their view about it.

The biggest problem is going to be convincing Zoo Publishing, the new owner of the publishing rights for that game (They bought everything off of Empire at the bankruptcy fire sale...) There's a reason that I'm rarely hopeful about titles rattling out of a Bankruptcy- if it was worth something, someone more well heeled than us will invariably buy it... Moreover, there seems to be several clones floating about.

[Svartalf]

First, how about the older Leisure Suit Larry games

Did you note the publisher of those titles... Vivendi Universal, now Blizzard-Activision. Going to have to see what the new publishing group formed out of that merging by Vivendi deals with us before making any decisions. Keep in mind Vivendi's not been much better than Atari. :D

[Svartalf]

Well, I didn't see this on the list, and I didn't read the whole thread... so be gentle. :( But I would like to see Fable: The Lost Chapters come to Linux. I think it's a nice combination of graphics and gameplay. I don't know how well Lionhead looks upon Linux, though...

While I've heard good things about it and I've no doubt that we might eventually convince Lionhead to give us a crack at some of their stuff, their current publisher, Microsoft Game Studios is highly unlikely at this time to allow anyone to port ANY of their published titles to Linux. That might change if they're loosing ground solid to us and it becomes a decision of losing traction to Linux or losing cash they need to stay afloat- but for now, it's dead, dead, dead.

It's a nice idea, but while I'd love to have that and a couple more games like Dungeon Siege, they're just not going to be happening in the foreseeable future.

[Svartalf]

Well i liked Raptor, was fun long time ago...

I'm sure George and Scott would love to see another potential revenue stream out of that title right about now... ;)

[Svartalf]

- How about any of the older (Porsche, High Stakes) or more recent (Carbon) editions of Need for Speed? I haven't found any NFS title on the list.


Because nobody thought about them. Unfortunately, they're EA titles.
That means "maybe" at best.


- Trackmania Sunrise or newer (only the older original is on the list)


It's considered part of the package on that one- we're likely to get access to things if we're given one on some of these.


- Puzzle Quest


My GF would love me for helping to port that and then kill me afterwards for bringing her a damn time sink.


- Secret Files: Tunguska & Puritas Cordis


Those could be considered. I also want Fritz and a few other things from them. The studio itself is probably approachable- the publishers might be more entertaining though.


- Battlefield: Vietnam, 2 and Battlefield Heroes


EA. I've got an EA related title or two that I think I might be able to sweet-talk out of them for sale electronically, but in the same breath, we need to see what we can manage on SMAC or get someone to break the ice over there, it's a "maybe" at best on those. (I'm picturing Sisyphus' level of labor right at the moment...)

- An improved version of Ascendancy

I've tried several times, unsuccessfully, to get them to allow a port of that game back when it was still a going concern. Nowadays, I'm not quite sure WHAT The Logic Factory's doing right now or if it's just a silly pair of websites operating mostly on autopilot. They keep saying Seeker's due out and that Ascendancy II is following and would be multiplatform (i.e. they might be amenable to a Linux version...) but they won't return emails, etc. The truth of the matter is that DNF isn't the ultimate piece of "It's coming soon, honest!" vaporware- DNF's just more visible than the one that ought to hold that title... ;)

[Apopas]

I'd really like to see The Book of Unwritten Tales being released for Linux. I think it's possible to get this game to Linux.
YEAH! I second to that as well!


A release of A Vampyre Story for Linux would also be nice.
Yup and there is a MacoSX version as well.



Speaking about real commercial Linux releases there are more adventures than first person shooters.

What are these my friend? I'm not aware of anything.

[Elryhm]

Bah. I forgot Microsoft is the publisher. Those guys bug me...

[L33F3R]

does dreamcatcher have a negative view of linux?
http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/

[whizse]

i would be happy for any decent racing game :)

Agreed, and I see FlatOut 2 is on the list of maybes :)

[bartek]

Maybe worth to look into: http://www.book-of-unwritten-tales.com/

The German version is already out and got good reviews (85%+) The game states to use the Ogre engine.

Book of unwritten tales looks really good! Nice art style and lots of detail, plus I miss a good adventure game :)
I can't see why it shouldn't exist on linux since it uses the Ogre engine?

I can't think of any games I'd wish for right now, but I'm glad you are doing this Svartalf.

If you need any help with testing or contacting german publishers, don't hesitate to contact me. :D

I'd really like to see The Book of Unwritten Tales being released for Linux. I think it's possible to get this game to Linux.

The game uses the Ogre engine, which is also used in games from Deck13 (the Ankh series and Jack Keane) which are also ported to Linux.

The developers of The Book of Unwritten Tales also said it's possible to see a release for Mac OS or Linux in the future.
http://games4mac.de/content_g4m/meldung.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=7495
So it looks like they're willing to port this game to Linux.

The Book of Unwritten Tales +1

[Svartalf]

Bah. I forgot Microsoft is the publisher. Those guys bug me...

They do me. They've effectively deep-sixed, as far as I'm concerned, several titles already published and to be published- that I'd love to play but absolutely will not. Fable's one of them, much to my dismay.

[Svartalf]

does dreamcatcher have a negative view of linux?
http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/

Haven't contacted them yet. They're an up-and-coming publisher of good RPG, click-and-search type Adventure games, along with a few gems outside those genres. Lemme get a bit clear of the release debacle at my day job that I'm undergoing and I'll put them up higher on the list to see what they have to say to me.

[Svartalf]

Redoing the textures/improving the engine would be a huge job and isn't something that is likely to happen.

Depends on how worthwhile the original game is. Having said that...it'd remain to be seen.


PS. Svartalf posts should be pages in your first post. 110 posts isn't all that impressive. :p

Edited... :D (I blame being sleep deprived from the release from HELL- you try getting right doing reconfigurations of software RAID1 Linux boxes (To non-RAID or from it to RAID1...) in a fully automated manner for machines in the field... I won't say it's difficult, but there's always something else lurking in the mix... ;) ) 110 pages isn't all that impressive, if you get down to it- but it's a bit more than I'd ever envisioned. And I hope to have more wins like Caster and, if it ever happens, EU2 shortly.

[Raven3x7]

Drakensang on linux would be great.
And what about Assasins Creed? It's a good game, if a tad repetitive. Published by Ubisoft so probably not a hot prospect

[rafi]

Braid would be great :)
What about Sega Rally "Revo" or Virtua Tennis 3/2009?

[Svartalf]

* Ubisoft's Ghost recon series. (Older games should be relatively cheap to gain access to; Some of them were ported to MAC, so the code-base should be there...)
* Ubisoft's Rainbow Six series. (Same as above).
* Ubisoft's FarCry. (1 should be cheaper, shouldn't it?)


You will be surprised at what they think they can gouge for on older titles as they're part of the franchise and if you muck up a release for the platform you're doing it can 'harm' the other franchise titles. They're going to charge only about 1/3rd what they'd charge for the latest stuff just to make it painful if you boggle on them and to keep the low pikers that they'd not normally want out of the game.

Seriously.



... Oh, X3:TC is not in the list. Intended?


Yes. No conflict-of-interest items with LGP. Sorry. :D

(Not directed at you...)
Having said that, if you're interested in seeing things like that, you need to be honest with yourselves and buy the titles in question, including the X3 title already published. Doesn't matter if you've bought it for Windows in a past life. It's a differing SKU. The industry isn't formed with what anyone calls "common sense". The fact that iD still seems to produce it for Windows with an unofficial "patch" is unusual. Epic seems to have quit that practice and BioWare hasn't done any more than NWN that way- more because of publisher interference than anything else that I can tell. You buy the game for the platform you want to run on it.

If you want Linux games, you have to BUY them. Otherwise we have to be visibly larger than the Mac userbase in a way that's shown in IDC type figures- which won't happen for a long time yet to come because they measure userbase in "units sold" instead of what is actively being used. MS' figures are dead wrong- you can take about 10% of the market MS claims to have and apply it to the Linux/*BSD side of things because they claim 'shipped' and for every non DIY Linux machine, there's a concomitant Windows install claimed in those figures that's just not accurate anymore. Buying Linux games gives the publishers and studios numbers that they can show to the big boys to get better deals.

[Svartalf]

Braid would be great :)
What about Sega Rally "Revo" or Virtua Tennis 3/2009?

Heh... There's four little letters associated with those titles that would make the price for either a deep 5-figure deal for rights access. ;) I'll try to remember to add them to the "maybe" list this evening or tomorrow.

[Apopas]

Drakensang on linux would be great.
And what about Assasins Creed? It's a good game, if a tad repetitive. Published by Ubisoft so probably not a hot prospect

YEAH! If any of them ever comes to Linux it will be the first time I'll preorder a game :D

[yoshi314]

Freespace 2 (We've got code- need to get rights for assets for commercial release if possible...)i don't see the point, unless you would like to redistribute the data files.

there is already a pretty mature linux fs2 project underway ( on http://scp.indiegames.us/ ), so that might be a duplicate effort.

PopCap's game framework and PopCap's games themselves.that would be a major win. especially a port of bejewelled 2.

Audiosurfnow this would be awesome. anyone who has seen this game in action would probably agree.

deus ex really deserves a new port. i'd vote for it.

how are things looking with studios that don't exist anymore? i'm thinking of classics made by bullfrog (dungeon keeper, theme hospital, theme park) or muckyfoot (startopia)

[Melcar]

A lot of good games being mentioned. Most of my favorites fall in the "Maybe" and "Being Looked Into" columns :).

I don't know what is the current status for the old Infinity Engine games; some were Black Isle which is dead (Interplay I think kept the rights), and others Bioware (they are EA know no?). It would be awesome to have Torment, Baldur's Gate Saga, and Icewind Dale Linux ports (we desperately need RPGs in Linux anyway). Most of these titles work on WINE, so I wouldn't be totally bumbed out if they ended up in the "Dead End" column of suggestions.

Rome: Total War has been mentioned (still keeping my fingers crossed for that). So how about the others in the series? Medieval 2 or Shogun would be awesome.

The first two Thief games would have been great too, but I can see them in the "Dead Ends" list now. Drakensang I didn't particularly like, but it's a competent single player RPG and God knows we need more of those in Linux. The Freespace games would be cool; even with fs2open out there, you still need the actual game (fs2open is more of a mod for the original game anyway). Oh, and another 50 votes for Deus Ex :D.

[wolterh]

I don't mean to repeat this game if it is already in the list--a fact that I ignore. Nevertheless, if it is already in the list, then its use is to let you know that a lot of people would like this.

Port Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (And obviously the non-expansion version, I guess)

It was already done for the apple computers by the Bold company.

Keep up the good work!

[L33F3R]

I don't mean to repeat this game if it is already in the list--a fact that I ignore. Nevertheless, if it is already in the list, then its use is to let you know that a lot of people would like this.

Port Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (And obviously the non-expansion version, I guess)

It was already done for the apple computers by the Bold company.

Keep up the good work!

Love both of these. i can see the potential on netbooks because of the low system requirements.

*ughh i juz remembered the big Microsoft logo that shows up.

And welcome to phoronix wolterh :)

[wolterh]

Love both of these. i can see the potential on netbooks because of the low system requirements.

*ughh i juz remembered the big Microsoft logo that shows up.

And welcome to phoronix wolterh :)

See people? I have a fine taste. You should follow my suggestions XD

Thanks for the welcoming, L33F3R!

[superppl]

I would like to see some racing games on linux. Any chance of bringing Colin McRae Dirt and Race Driver Grid on linux?

Also, how about Team 17's Worm's games?

[Aradreth]

This post doesn't make clear what "it" is. I'm curious as to which games in that list are more popular than others. A poll might also help to prioritise the efforts of seeking permission.
Just ignore that post, it's what comes out when I'm barely awake and have a hang over. >.>

[L33F3R]

I would like to see some racing games on linux. Any chance of bringing Colin McRae Dirt and Race Driver Grid on linux?

Also, how about Team 17's Worm's games?

WORMS!!!

not even the stupid 3D versions. worms arm and world party hold a permanent place in my heart :)

[Apopas]

Yeah, the 3D versions were totally idiot. Worms2 was the best :D

[Dragonlord]

Double that. Worms2 = king... WWP = sucks. But there is Wormux by the way. Is a Worms2 clone.

[L33F3R]

wormux and hedgewars cant compete with worms.

[Svartalf]

i don't see the point, unless you would like to redistribute the data files.

You just hit it on the head...


there is already a pretty mature linux fs2 project underway ( on http://scp.indiegames.us/ ), so that might be a duplicate effort.


The SCP for FS2 is only okay on the engine's license. The rest of what they're doing (Making available the assets, enhanced assets, etc. via download) is NOT legit and is an infringement of the worst kind- just waiting for the lawyers to find out what they've done. The situation needs to be defused; which is what I was alluding to.


that would be a major win. especially a port of bejewelled 2.


:D


now this would be awesome. anyone who has seen this game in action would probably agree.


:D


deus ex really deserves a new port. i'd vote for it.


It's a subject of discussion. Eidos was of the impression that the rights still belonged to Loki Games on the Linux version and was unwilling to relicense the thing to someone else back when Loki imploded. They might be amenable to doing it, but they're going to want silly large amounts of cash for rights access, most likely.


how are things looking with studios that don't exist anymore? i'm thinking of classics made by bullfrog (dungeon keeper, theme hospital, theme park) or muckyfoot (startopia)

Anything of Bullfrog belongs to EA. Startopia's rights belong to Eidos. You MIGHT be able to find someone from Mucky Foot that still has the assets and code because they just simply shuttered themselves- but you'd have to get Eidos to sign off on that. Heh... Just because a studio's no-more, doesn't mean you're going to get an easy shot at a game. ;)

[Svartalf]

Port Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (And obviously the non-expansion version, I guess)

You mean the Age of Empires II with a Microsoft URL (i.e. Microsoft Game Studios for the publisher...) for the official homepage? Hm?

[Licaon]

@Svartalf: what about becoming a game dev for a game currently in production? ( or did i miss your thoughts and results on this ? )

while porting old games is a good thing(TM), buying them again for Linux is not, as long as i can run them with WINE ( guys/gals don't start the WINE vs. native flame-war please :D )

i feel that having a future game with a Linux version would impact the gaming media/ecosystem/etc better than being always one step behind, where it always looks that 'those crazy Linux/Mac guys are so nostalgic, playing that 7 years old Windows game'
being there from the start could shape a better future for the engines too, like not using some proprietary non-portable middle-ware and etc

and a good example happened recently, as ET:QW was developed for Linux almost at the same time, and the release was a bit later, while UT3 had Linux as an afterthought and is still not done

[Svartalf]

I would like to see some racing games on linux. Any chance of bringing Colin McRae Dirt and Race Driver Grid on linux?

Heh... Check the list... About all I've got to say there... :D


Also, how about Team 17's Worm's games?

Maybe...

[Svartalf]

@Svartalf: what about becoming a game dev for a game currently in production? ( or did i miss your thoughts and results on this ? )

If you're good enough, step up and go looking for them- but they're not going to hand you anything work-wise unless you're a proven. You're going to have had work in this industry or have a decent portfolio of stuff in hand from the indie or personal space to do that.


while porting old games is a good thing(TM), buying them again for Linux is not, as long as i can run them with WINE ( guys/gals don't start the WINE vs. native flame-war please :D )


There's not a flame war...only the reality of that route. You can frame it however you like, but what I've said (I won't get into it in deference to your request) still stands. :D


i feel that having a future game with a Linux version would impact the gaming media/ecosystem/etc better than being always one step behind, where it always looks that 'those crazy Linux/Mac guys are so nostalgic, playing that 7 years old Windows game'
being there from the start could shape a better future for the engines too, like not using some proprietary non-portable middle-ware and etc


I've already got one new one, working on a couple of others. It's the indie stuff on the list (and there's a bunch of REALLY good titles on the list that're that...) that you'll have a better chance of making what you're talking to happen.


and a good example happened recently, as ET:QW was developed for Linux almost at the same time, and the release was a bit later, while UT3 had Linux as an afterthought and is still not done

Actually, it wasn't an afterthought. It just wasn't RELEASED to us. They had the very thing you talk to going on (Ryan typically doesn't do just servers...think about that for a long moment... ;) )- but opted to delay for whatever inscrutable reasons they had. And you could be involved with a AAA title and have it go sideways on you just like it did with Ryan on UT3.

[Licaon]

besides LGP and icculus, what other dev/company can you recommend ?

[Svartalf]

besides LGP and icculus, what other dev/company can you recommend ?

Most of them are in-house (TTimo and iD, for example...) and there's a couple trying their hand in the space (as an example, RobbieAB... ;)) coupled with some that're trying to strike out a bit on their own (as an example, Myself- I'm not breaking ties with LGP, but there's a bit more to be done with the Indie space than they're in a position to do...).

As to "recommend"...I'm not sure what you're getting at. Are you saying you have a prospect in hand with someone and need devs to carry it out?

[Licaon]

As to "recommend"...I'm not sure what you're getting at. Are you saying you have a prospect in hand with someone and need devs to carry it out?nope, I'm just trying to find out what options there are out there so in case my voice is heard i can point out someone that could do it

[Svartalf]

nope, I'm just trying to find out what options there are out there so in case my voice is heard i can point out someone that could do it

Gotcha. :D

[Svartalf]

Thanks for the welcoming, L33F3R!

Oh, and by the by, don't take my commentary wrong... You're welcome and keep providing input, but MGS and Atari/Infogrames aren't going to be at all interested in providing the time of day to us.

[superppl]

But I loved the 3D games! You guyz are just upset becaues they played differently.
Well, Worms 3D wasn't that good, but Worms 4 is good once you get used to it. I love playing that game with my friends. :D

[azraelthe7th]

I've noticed there are a few Ubisoft titles on there, so might I add Assassin's Creed and the Prince of Persia games to the request?

[L33F3R]

that's a good call. What's Ubisoft's general attitude towards linux? I think its a good idea to make a list of cooperative publishers and nazi ones (obviously MS and infogrames are listed).

[L33F3R]

as for urban warfare which Svartalf has added to the list, here is an email i got back from one of the devs(Jason) for future reference:

Shane,

Unfortunately, I am unable to oblige you in your request, as I do not posses the rights to the source code. Since it was produced as a school project, the school owns the rights to the code and we are not allowed to distribute it.

Sorry, but you'll just have to remake the game on your own.

--Jason


cout << "On request from Svartalf" << endl;

Fragfist

L33F3R's obvious description: Fragfist is a game that you cant play as it is a student project :eek:. Looks pretty damn cool tho! You run around in car things and go BOOM BOOM to eachother!

Web Description: About:
Fragfist is a 3D Multiplayer Action-Shooter with vehicles. It's set in a hostile post-apocalyptic urban enviroment.
The basic idea behind it is taking the vehicle-parts from common FPS titles, like the Battlefield-series; FarCry; UT2k4 etc, and building a cool game around it.
In Fragfist players can choose from at least three different vehicles that can be customized with new Weaponry throughout the game.
Gametypes playable are Deathmatch and King of the Hill.
The game features at least one map.

Fragfist is being developed by three Art and Animation students of the Games Academy Germany and a Computer Science student of the Technische Universitaet Berlin.

School: www.games-academy.de
Rendering: Ogre
Physics: PhysX
Networking: Raknet

Website: http://www.fragfist.com/
Teaser: http://dev.fragfist.com/fragfist_pub/3rdSemester/fragfist_teaser_low.avi