Any plans for linux support this time around?



We're fairly spoiled for space 4X nowadays but we've still never had anything "endless"

draxil wrote:
Any plans for linux support this time around?



We're fairly spoiled for space 4X nowadays but we've still never had anything "endless"

At this point I wouldn't get my hopes up even if they say they will support it. There was that community voting thing for Endless Space where people voted for a Linux port that was forgotten about as soon as they started working on Endless Legend, and then we got told that Endless Legend would get Linux port which is now 'on hold', code for 'obviously never coming'.



There is a business interest for saying "Sure we will support Linux" then never bothering and just pocketing a little extra cash from people who brought it for Windows with the intent that they would play it later/more on Linux. I don't know enough about Amplitude to know if they would do that on purpose but the end result is the same either way.



The problem is gamedevs keep treating Linux as a 'port' (same for the other platforms). They make it for Windows then try and hack it into submission. It's much more work in the long run and at a point when they are rushing to meet deadlines then run into some big issue so its the first to get killed off. They need to get the Linux build into the automated testing/build pipeline from the start.



They can hold off on things like optimizations, some of the platform specific things (like a console UI/control scheme), any kind of manual testing and so on until later, but the pipeline should be producing binaries from the start (or minimum viable product). That way there isn't some middleware chosen that makes it impossible/really hard to port, Deadline/last minute delays that result in it being the first thing that's killed off. Less duplicated work (like having separate build systems instead of one cross-platform one). Worst case you still produce an unofficial version, or an unoptimized beta that can be worked on when time permits and cost a little extra time at the start. Also that investment can be carried through to future projects in many ways, either just as developer knowledge for next time or by actually duplicating the build pipeline for a similar project. If they had done Endless Space, maybe they would have done Legend too.