Will the Star Citizen Project Fund Linux and Mac Ports For CryENGINE 3?

Mr. Jaggers writes "Chris Roberts, game designer of Wing Commander fame, has had great success with his new crowd-funded Star Citizen project — so much that the $2m base goal has been smashed with weeks to go on the Kickstarter portion of the campaign. Now Chris is floating a list of stretch goals for fans to vote on, with Linux and Mac support both listed as stretch goal candidates. Since Star Citizen is based on the popular CryENGINE 3 game engine, these stretch goals are equivalent to funding Linux and Mac ports of CryENGINE. Chris couldn't make any absolute promises yet, since he doesn't own the engine, but CryENGINE 3 already supports Android, so at least there is existing OpenGL ES support to be leveraged towards adding Linux and Mac OpenGL support. If there is enough outpouring of cross-platform support from fans in this poll, Star Citizen could turn out to be the high-profile game that brings a AAA game engine to the growing Mac and Linux gaming communities — analogous to the role played by Wasteland 2 in bringing official Linux support to the Unity 4 engine popular among so many Indie developers."

Comments

Why is it using CryENGINE???

[Zobeid]

If there was ever any thought of wanting the game to run on Linux or Mac, why did he base it on CryENGINE to begin with? Isn't that sort of stupid? Really, isn't that all kinds of stupid? I should think that developers would have learned better by now.

Re:Why is it using CryENGINE???

[gbjbaanb]

I don't think there was - he chose an engne to work on the platform everyone makes games for - Windows. then he adds the poll option "d'ya want it on Linux?" and 21% of responders have said "yes".

That does mean 79% think other factors are more important.

so whilst I think it would make sense to think linux at the start of every project, especially now that Steam's opinion is known, it wasn't the position he started from. I wonder how much work has already started with CryEngine, and whether its too late to change, or too late to get CryEngine updated to work with Linux proper (if it already works on Android, I can't see it being too difficult a task).

Re:Why is it using CryENGINE???

[Zocalo]

Because Chris felt that consoles couldn't deliver his vision for the game and originally wanted the game to be PC only. There was a lot of call from fans on the game forums asking about Linux/Mac ports, so now he's looking into the possibility of providing support for those platforms. It's called listening to your target audience, and it's nice to see a company that is actually prepared to do that these days.

What I find far more interesting is the current poll standings for the additional platform support; 23% of the voters want a Linux port vs. only 8% for MacOS. Seriously? Almost a quarter of space/flight sim fans run Linux? I know FlightGear is good, but who knew?

Re:Why is it using CryENGINE???

[Nikker]

Ahhh all bullshit. If whomever sees that Linux wants to pay, will make the companies make (at the very least) better drivers to support their engine, then it will happen. Look at the state of ARM. Set top boxes, phones, tablets of all sizes will be able to run it. 2 million in cash makes its it even better. Now a Linux, Android port makes even more sense. They can now make a Linux port an be compatible with virtually all machines and OS's. I can set up a S4 Pro chip or a host of others that can play the same game. No NDA, I don't have to "clear" it with anyone. I just have to come up with a *nix compatible hardware setup to get it to run.

Now as a hardware manufacturer what would you side with?

Re:2m? Not even close

[Zocalo]

Kickstarter is only providing part of the funding. The bulk of the funding has been made at the main site for the game, and the combined total of both sites is currently standing at just over $2.7m.

Good News for Linux Gaming...

[dryriver]

When the original "Wing Commander" was released for DOS, many hardcore Amiga/Atari ST gamers bought PCs just to be able to play it. No game before it had the kind of graphics, story or space combat that Wing Commander offered. And this one game (plus the hugely innovative Ultima Underworld perhaps) turned PCs into a potent gaming machine overnight. ---- Star Citizen may very well do the same for Linux. A Chris Roberts Space Game + Internet Massively Multiplayer + Cryengine 3 graphics + Newtonian Physics simulation on everything in game + Linux = Nerd Heaven!!! ------- I say "Go, Chris Roberts, Go! Bring SC and CryEngine 3 to Linux!!!"

Linux users have to know the game exists.

[Zombie Ryushu]

The Linux Gaming community is a different audience than the Windows Gaming community. It has to be marketed to Linux gamers properly.

Re:Linux users have to know the game exists.

[cupantae]

I'll tell you one big difference between them: Windows gamers mostly wait for games to be presented to them, Linux gamers actively pursue their options.

If you believe phoronix article at all...

[Anonymous Coward]

Supposedly, there is already a Linux port of the CryEngine 3:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA4Mjk

Again, its from Phoronix, so take it with a grain of salt.

Re:Who gives a shit?

[Gordonjcp]

Do you realize the NFL is on TV right now?

Oh, is that what it is? I thought it was the Teletubbies. All I could see was a bunch of guys in fat suits waddling up and down until one of them falls over and starts to cry, and then the others run up and give him a hug.

That looks like a pretty weaksauce "sport", to be honest.

Re:Who gives a shit?

[Type44Q]

It actually looks to me like it might be kind of fun to play... but the thought of watching other people play?! How the fuck that is supposed to be fun, I'll certainly never understand...

If it doesn't run on my OS I don't buy it.

[RocketRabbit]

I am finished with dual-booting just to slurp up the latest and greatest games. The last console I purchased was a Playstation 2, and that was about a decade ago. I have the tablet that supports the most games (guess what one!) and a computer that runs a non-Windows OS.

It is a pretty simple thing to use one of the many multi-platform game development engines that are kicking about these days. If a game producer decides not to release a game on my OS, they will not see a sale. It's as simple as that.

The problem with using Wine for games, and dual-booting, is that you are basically telling manufacturers that you don't really care if they actually release their product for anything but Windows, and this sends a signal to Microsoft - that they should try to make Wine less and less useful on the newest games.

If you don't release a game on the OS that I already have and use, then I will just keep playing Dwarf Fortress instead. DF is surely better anyway.

Re:AAA Title?

[wormo]

Stepping aside from whether there is significant reason to be skeptical about the success Star Citizen itself... the OP claim was that the *game engine* is AAA class. Are you going to dispute that CryENGINE 3 is not being used for AAA titles? How about the first two Crysis games which have each sold in the millions? I suspect some of the other stuff currently in development will also qualify as AAA titles.

Making out that it's the first?

[ewanm89]

"could turn out to be the high-profile game that brings a AAA game engine to the growing Mac and Linux gaming communities"
Is he trying to make out CryEngine 3 will be the first AAA game engine on Mac and Linux? I guess the Quake, ID Tech, Unreal and Source (been on Mac for a while, Linux is in Beta now) engines done count?

Other Kickstarter game using Unity

[the_arrow]

The developers of the futuristic racer Distance (12 days to go on Kickstarter) has tried a beta of Unity 4 on Linux, and now says that they will definitelly bring the game out on Linux as well.