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Unreal Tournament Not To Include Linux Executable
AugstWest writes "According to Brandon Reinhart's .plan, even though the Linux support for Unreal Tournament will be on schedule with the rest of development, GT Interactive has decided not to include the Linux executable within the box. After Carmack's statement yesterday, the implications are pretty big. The only thing that could let them know how big the Linux gamer base is would be to have everyone interested in the Linux port make their opinions known, both publicly and to GT. " Politely let GT know - and thanks to Brandon Reinhart, who will be making the Linux executable available for download after UT hits the shelves.
The only things that matter to management is the bottom line. Boycotting or pirating Unreal Tournament won't accomplish anything, you just don't appear in the bottom line. Maybe nobody using Linux plays games, or maybe everybody boycotted us but there's not enough information to tell. We did sell stacks of copies to Windows users though.
Beyond registration a means of sending the message en masse would be useful as well. Something that says the only reason we the undersigned parted with money for Unreal Tournament was because a Linux port was available.
I think it is somewhat of a good idea to release the Linux binaries separately, so that they can keep track (with some degree of accuracy, albeit not 100%) of the number of people interested in running it on a Linux box.
Most people I know that run Linux go to Windows to play games client-side, but as far as servers go, we stick to Linux for running a dedicated game. GT should keep this in mind, and release the Linux binaries immediately upon release of the game in stores (which I suppose is today).
One of the main factors they should also keep in mind is that not everyone has a T1+ connection to the net, so if they're going to be releasing binaries that add up to several MBs worth of data, they had better plan on mirroring it in several FAST places - not just their site and cdrom.com (or another heavily-loaded mirror)...
I fear that Quake3's boxed Linux version won't gain as many buyers as it was once expected, due simply to the nature of the game in comparison with id's past games, but UT has a real chance here. Unreal was a horrid game over a network, but UT looks very promising (especially over a LAN =9 Add in random taunts to your victims to phenomenal looks, and you've got a fun game!
"Try that in Windows!"
A couple of people who have posted on here so far said that they wouldn't buy UT because GT won't be shipping the Linux version in the box. Well, think a moment - Epic Megagames (UT's authors) didn't make the decision. GT made the decision. Epic, on the other hand, went through a lot of effor to make sure the Linux port existed, was up to par, etc. They did thier bit for the OS revolution here - GT dropped the ball. I'm still buying UT on Monday when it hits the shelves - I support Epic. However, I'm going to be following my purchase up with an email to GT, and to Infogrames to point out how much of a mistake this sort of thinking is, based on my feelings as a customer when it comes to Linux support. Not to talk bad about them but, this *IS* GT we are talking about. They've managed to have thier hands on some seriously good sellers (Unreal, Deer Hunter (*SIGH* A chart topper when it comes to sales. Go fig.) - and managed to still have serious problems financially (strong sales, and still big losses? Wow.) I'm hoping Infogrames becoming majority shareholder in GT might turn things arround. Anyway - write letters to explain how you, as a Linux user, feel about thier decision. Don't hurt Epic's pocketbook just cause the twits above them screwed it up for them.
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr - looking for something to read? Check out my three free novels at MidnightRyder.org
Slashdotters getting excited to purchase a closed-source product. Wow. Never thought I'd see that.
What's the difference here folks? Is it because it's "just a game" and if it's unstable and buggy who cares? Or is it because open-source games just suck and we're forced to pay for good proprietary game software?
By the way...if anyone knows of an open-source game that doesn't suck, I'd like to know about it. Don't mention the obvious Carmack released code.
Time to watch my Karma drop...
The UT Linux executables will be available for download rather than being included in the box. We don't like this either. We REALLY, REALLY wanted the Linux executables to be on the CD, we reserved space for it, and actually had it there in the directory structure during beta. GT asked us yank it, because they were worried about tech support issues: that thousands of Linux users would have questions about installation that GT reps (who are only familiar with Windows and consoles) wouldn't be able to answer. We obliged with their request, because GT is responsible for performing (and paying for) UT tech support, and it didn't seem fair to put the burden on them. Here is part of a message I sent to a GT exec, advocating putting Linux on the UT CD-Rom: ---begin--- Why Linux on the Unreal Tournament box is a very good move: First, Red Hat Linux is selling very well in retail, and there's a good chance that by word of mouth, Linux users will pick up Unreal Tournament with their Linux purchase or afterwards. I'd be very surprised if we didn't gain over 3% more sales from Linux users. Now if UT sells a million units (Tim's wild guess), that's 30,000 additional units. If we make it *very* clear that the Linux version is unsupported (no tech support calls), then surely this is a profitable move. Second, while Linux users are far outnumbered by Windows users, the statistics don't tell the whole story. Linux users are the hardest of the hardcore. They're among the movers and shakers who are serious deathmatchers (Quake 2 and Quake 3 are available for Linux); they run major community web sites; they run servers on T1 and T3 connections. These people have far more influence on gaming than their numbers indicate. Third, Linux is gaining an incredible amount of momentum, and sticking the Linux penguin logo on the UT box would further the Unreal franchise's position as a leading-edge product that's not afraid to push into new territories. This has always been our hallmark -- Epic shipped the first-ever DirectX game (Fire Fight, published by Electronic Arts); now the Unreal Tournament demo is the first DirectX7 release; and now we have the chance to be the first game to ship simultaneous with Windows and Linux versions in the same box. ---end--- GT considered all of this and understood the issues, but still had overriding concerns about the cost. I can't say I blame them; I sure wouldn't want to be responsible for supporting users with 10 different versions each of 10 different Linux distributions, each with a completely different set of video drivers, x-windows shells, permissions, and possibly even recompiled kernels. Linux's approach kicks ass on the Internet with its open, user-driven community. But it doesn't seem too compatible with the mass-market distribution model, where companies pay rooms full of people to answer phones and help customers, and where one tech support call wipes out all the profit from a box sold. Emailing companies like GT *politely* to show your support for the Linux platform is a great idea. Just keep in mind that, to publishers, the Linux thing isn't simply a popularity contest; supporting Linux needs to make sense financially, and there are some serious issues with support and compatibility they need to consider. Tim Sweeney Epic Games http://unreal.epicgames.com/