LGP Opens Beta Test for X2

zborgerd writes "Linux Game Publishing has announced the opening of their beta test for X2: The Threat. X2 was featured on Slashdot last month in LGP's mystery game contest. Linux gamers can apply for the beta at LGP's beta testing site. Per their usual policy, everyone who pre-orders the game from one of their resellers is automatically qualified to enter the beta test. X2: The Threat is Egosoft's epic space simulation that is often said to be greatly influenced by the the classic games of the Elite series. A third game in the series, X3: Reunion, will soon be available for Windows (and hopefully Linux and OS X as well, if the X2 ports attract a reasonable number of fans on these platforms)."

Comments

Choose a better game?

[EvilMonkeySlayer]

Couldn't they have chosen something easier to port? And a bit more recent?

The X series (iirc, I could be wrong) uses Direct 3D, porting it would be quite difficult. Surely porting a game that uses OpenGL would at least give the programmers a bit less trouble in porting?

On a different note, I've yet to see any Elite clone equal the greatness that is the Elite trilogy. Here's hoping for the ever elusive Elite 4 that David Braben has been working on since the dawn of time to appear, if at all.

Re:Choose a better game?

[michaelsimms]

Couldn't they have chosen something easier to port? And a bit more recent?

OK, Soomething easier to port, maybe, but we pick the games we port carefully with regard to what people want. X2 is widely regarded as the best space game of all time, and IF it sells well for Linux, you can look to see X3 soon too.

As for more recent. *sighs* Well, sure, send me $100,000 and I'll get the license to port any recent game you like. Or, alternatively, we will port games that are realistic to port to linux.

Also X2 isnt exactly old, it has been out for 18 months. X3 is yet to be released for Windows.

The X series (iirc, I could be wrong) uses Direct 3D, porting it would be quite difficult. Surely porting a game that uses OpenGL would at least give the programmers a bit less trouble in porting?

Sure it would, but just because a game is easy to port doesnt make it any good. We pick games that are GOOD, not easy. If I wanted easy, Id be making games for consoles and driving a ferrari right now. As it is, I make games for Linux and catch a bus, cos I want Linux to have the best games it can. It means more work to get them out there, but its worth it. Easy and non-direct3d, well, pretty much all windows 3d games now use direct3d except for games by id, and they are covered for Linux versions. So that leaves 2D windows games. I hear there is yet another tetris clone for windows, but you know what, I really dont think Im going to waste my time having my company port that game to linux.

On a different note, I've yet to see any Elite clone equal the greatness that is the Elite trilogy. Here's hoping for the ever elusive Elite 4 that David Braben has been working on since the dawn of time to appear, if at all.

Well, speaking as someone that played elite from 2 months after its initial release on its first platform (the BBC micro) for 6 solid months, I can tell you, X2 is the first game I have seen in the genre that passes Elite. It is better in every aspect. I loved Elite, I really did. X2 beats it. For those Elite die-hards, there is even a small in-game homage to elite in X2. The control to activate the SETA time compression system, is J. It does exactly the same as the old Elite J Jump did.

Elite type game

[Anonymous Coward]

Oolite is another free Elite type game. They have OSX, Windows and Linux versions.

Re:Performance?

[michaelsimms]

We always take the time to port properly. Often that can mean it takes a lot longer than we would like to do a port, however, we never take shortcuts.

Re:What technologies do these games use?

[michaelsimms]

Technologies. We are porting the Direct3D to OpenGL, we use SDL for some things, GCC is the compiler. ffmpeg for video, openAL for audio.

Re:Using DirectX from Wine?

[michaelsimms]

Not at all, we use purely ourown code, and libraries such as OpenGL and SDL. If you follow our company history you will see that I am very very much against any kind of emulation of Windows software on Linux for many reasons I am not going to go into here cos Id be ranting on on this thread for pages (google for my reasons, they are findable, if you are rerally interested).

Re:Good to see a port, but...

[michaelsimms]

While Im not saying anything official here, but it would be a logical assumption that if X2 for Linux does well, X3 will follow some time in the early part of next year.
Of course, Im only the CEO of the company doing the ports, so I may not have all the information, but taking an informed guess, Id say that thats the likely path.
{:-)