Is id Abandoning Linux?

edv writes "In a news posting dated 10th of September, Beyond3D is reporting of an article in a German publication in which id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead discusses the upcoming id title Rage and the engine it runs on, codenamed 'id Tech 5'. Amongst other things Todd mentions that no Linux version of the game is planned at the moment, and that it will run on Direct3D on Windows platform. OpenGL version is planned for the Mac however. If true, this would be a serious blow for Linux gaming (insert jokes here) as id and Carmack have been strong proponents of OpenGL and openness in the past."

shame...

[i.r.id10t]

Shame... id is one of the companies I've always financially supported buy buying at least one copy (if not 2 or 3) of their games, *especially* with explicit Linux support (or from a Linux friendly retailer).

Wonder if I should go ahead and open that unopened l33t tin edition of Q3 for Linux...

the relevant part

[leehwtsohg]

This is the relevent part: "Auf die Frage danach, ob denn Rage bzw. die zu Grunde liegende id-Tech-5-Engine neben Mac, Windows-PC, PlayStation 3 und Xbox 360 auch Linux-PCs unterstützen werden, antwortete Hollenshead, dass dazu noch nichts geplant oder angekündigt worden sei. Technisch möglich wäre es, zumal auch mit MacOS X ein Unix-System unterstützt würde. Hollenshead zufolge ist John Carmack mittlerweile nicht mehr so an Linux interessiert wie zuvor, auch wenn es noch einige Linux-Fans bei id Software gebe. Hier müssen Linux-Fans also noch abwarten."

Hollenshead answers that no linux version is planned or announced. From a technical point of view it would be possible, since OS X will be supported.
According to Hollenshead, John Carmack isn't as interested in linux as he was earlier, though there are still some linux fans at id.

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[account_deleted]

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Linux needs Windows emulation

[athloi]

Problem: 1.34% market share, and the remaining 98.66% of software is represented on Windows or Macintosh.

Current solution: make clones of existing software (Open Office, GIMPshop).

Future solution: either using virtualization or crafty API emulation, make Linux be able to transparently run Windows games and software.

It's a different approach, but you'd have more people using Linux, because since Windows is the de facto standard, it's the standard the software they need requires.

Re:Support(Vista, OpenGL) == SLOW_FPS

[morgan_greywolf]

In his defense, I would say that "it will be fixed in the future" counts for nothing in a discussion about games being developed *now*. I'd rather believe it when I see it.

As others have pointed out elsewhere in this thread, what matters for developing games now is what the technology will be like 2-3 years, not what the technology is currently like.

Re:At what price?

[daeg]

I'll start pirating XP in the workplace before I unleash the monstrosity that Vista is upon my users.

I don't have enough time, energy, staff, or money to deal with Vista and my users as well as upgrade nearly every PC to handle it (along with the outrageous license costs).

Re:Long-term

[GeckoX]

That is not a given.

With XP, it was adopted because given the alternative...Windows users were clamoring for the upgrade. People not only wanted XP, they needed XP. Home users, businesses, everywhere.

This time around things are not the same. It is very much like Windows ME. It's not necessary, it has drawbacks, and XP Just Works.

The market MAY end up Vista dominated...but the jury is still very much out on that. Of all the people I know with PC's...dozens anyways, there are TWO using Vista. One that installed it themselves and bitches to no end about it, and the other having gotten it preinstalled on a new machine...used for emailing and surfing, that's it.

Re:Hmm...

[Chandon Seldon]

If they truly decide to develop Rage in DirectX, a port would be much harder, requiring lots of rewrites... not something you just spontaneously decide to do around shipping time.

The minute the PS3 supports DirectX, that'll become a possibility. Until then, any serious game engine will need both an OpenGL and a DirectX render path.