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I really like the idea of gaming on Linux, but I feel like there are still has a lot of unanswered questions. How do you stop developers from using Direct X? Ho

I really like the idea of gaming on Linux, but I feel like there are still has a lot of unanswered questions. How do you stop developers from using Direct X? How do you convince graphics card companies to optimize their drivers for linux?

jaredmcateer 13y ago
Steambox pretty much answers both of those questions. They are bringing a platform into the console space where DirectX isn't as much of a gorilla in the rool, then when people develop games for the console they get the linux pc port for free, enough user base and demand will convince the graphics card companies.
teamonkey 13y ago
> How do you stop developers from using Direct X? You make something better.
adwf 13y ago
Two answers that I can think of at first glance: 1) A large proportion of the games that I own for Linux are developed using the Unity engine. This has many advantages for an indie developer (ease of use, cheap license), but is especially useful because it can cross-compile to Windows/Mac/Linux/Android/iOS/Xbox/PS. Even Blackberry! This is a godsend for indie developers trying to reach as large a market as possible. So the challenge isn't necessarily to get developers to stop using DirectX, but to get the major engine developers (eg. Unreal) to ensure good cross-compilation support. They already have to a certain extent, because the PS3 is already using a form of OpenGL. All we really need is a little extra effort from them to make sure it's compatible with Linux. This would immediately add a large proportion of the current game releases to the Linux market. 2) Driver optimisation isn't as important as you might think. The average PC graphics card vastly overtook consoles in graphical power a very long time ago. Certainly within a year or two of the current generation of consoles. Even without optimised drivers, they are still far more powerful than the Xbox360 or PS3. All in all, the obstacles are very surmountable. The biggest problem that I can see lies in convincing the big game engines, like Unreal, to bother with such a small market. But if Valve leads the way with the Source engine, they could start eating away at the likes of Unreal - simply by being the only AAA choice on Linux.
- pachydermic 13y ago
  Good driver support is still pretty important... it's definitely one of the worst parts of Linux right now. I have an Nvidia card with Optimus in my laptop, and it's a total headache... I can't do stuff like connect a TV to my laptop and extend my display like I can with windows. The performance is not as good (which obviously matters for demanding games). The battery life is not as good. I just broke my X server when I tried installing some package (with apt) which wiped out some of my graphics libraries somehow... definitely not something your average joe can handle. Overall, it is a huge pain in the ass. I oh-so-wish that graphics cards would "just work" like wireless cards now do. But if you're on a desktop and get a well-supported card, you're right. It's not a big deal.
  - adwf 13y ago
    Oh god, I'd forgotten about Optimus, it's a whole new level of messed up! I completely agree on that front. Took me days to get my laptop working right over the summer. Thankfully I don't game on my laptop, but if I did, I'd be very annoyed. The only way I actually got everything working was by installing Gnome Shell of all things...
qznc 13y ago
1) Same argument as ever. OpenGL is cross platform. This means you can reuse your engine for a mobile port of your game. 2) You take some of the graphic card company engineers and put them into a room with game engine engineers. Valve had some spectacular success with this technique lately [0]. Unfortunately, this is not viable for Indies or Free Software devs, but only AAA games need the high end anyways. [0] http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/ http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

jaredmcateer 13y ago

Steambox pretty much answers both of those questions. They are bringing a platform into the console space where DirectX isn't as much of a gorilla in the rool, then when people develop games for the console they get the linux pc port for free, enough user base and demand will convince the graphics card companies.

teamonkey 13y ago

> How do you stop developers from using Direct X? You make something better.

adwf 13y ago

Two answers that I can think of at first glance: 1) A large proportion of the games that I own for Linux are developed using the Unity engine. This has many advantages for an indie developer (ease of use, cheap license), but is especially useful because it can cross-compile to Windows/Mac/Linux/Android/iOS/Xbox/PS. Even Blackberry! This is a godsend for indie developers trying to reach as large a market as possible. So the challenge isn't necessarily to get developers to stop using DirectX, but to get the major engine developers (eg. Unreal) to ensure good cross-compilation support. They already have to a certain extent, because the PS3 is already using a form of OpenGL. All we really need is a little extra effort from them to make sure it's compatible with Linux. This would immediately add a large proportion of the current game releases to the Linux market. 2) Driver optimisation isn't as important as you might think. The average PC graphics card vastly overtook consoles in graphical power a very long time ago. Certainly within a year or two of the current generation of consoles. Even without optimised drivers, they are still far more powerful than the Xbox360 or PS3. All in all, the obstacles are very surmountable. The biggest problem that I can see lies in convincing the big game engines, like Unreal, to bother with such a small market. But if Valve leads the way with the Source engine, they could start eating away at the likes of Unreal - simply by being the only AAA choice on Linux.

pachydermic 13y ago
Good driver support is still pretty important... it's definitely one of the worst parts of Linux right now. I have an Nvidia card with Optimus in my laptop, and it's a total headache... I can't do stuff like connect a TV to my laptop and extend my display like I can with windows. The performance is not as good (which obviously matters for demanding games). The battery life is not as good. I just broke my X server when I tried installing some package (with apt) which wiped out some of my graphics libraries somehow... definitely not something your average joe can handle. Overall, it is a huge pain in the ass. I oh-so-wish that graphics cards would "just work" like wireless cards now do. But if you're on a desktop and get a well-supported card, you're right. It's not a big deal.
- adwf 13y ago
  Oh god, I'd forgotten about Optimus, it's a whole new level of messed up! I completely agree on that front. Took me days to get my laptop working right over the summer. Thankfully I don't game on my laptop, but if I did, I'd be very annoyed. The only way I actually got everything working was by installing Gnome Shell of all things...

qznc 13y ago

1) Same argument as ever. OpenGL is cross platform. This means you can reuse your engine for a mobile port of your game. 2) You take some of the graphic card company engineers and put them into a room with game engine engineers. Valve had some spectacular success with this technique lately [0]. Unfortunately, this is not viable for Indies or Free Software devs, but only AAA games need the high end anyways. [0] http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/ http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]