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General discussionGOG.com Now Supports Linux!(1233 posts)(1233 posts)
(1233 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 19, 2014
50 games for the free OS available right NOW!

A while ago, [url=http://www.gog.com/news/gogcom_soon_on_more_platforms]we've announced our plans to add Linux support as one of the features of our digital platform, with 100 games on the launch day sometime this fall. We've put much time and effort into this project and now we've found ourselves with over 50 titles, classic and new, prepared for distribution, site infrastructure ready, support team trained and standing by, and absolutely no reason to wait until October or November. We're still aiming to have at least 100 Linux games in the coming months, but we've decided not to delay the launch just for the sake of having a nice-looking number to show off to the press. It's not about them, after all, it's about you. So, one of the most popular site feature requests on our community wishlist is granted today: Linux support has officially arrived on GOG.com!

The first 50+ titles we've have in store for you come from all the corners of our DRM-Free catalog. Note that we've got many classic titles coming officially to Linux for the very first time, thanks to the custom builds prepared by our dedicated team of penguin tamers. That's over twenty fan-favorite GOG.com classics, like &[url=http://www.gog.com/game/flatout_2]Flatout 2, , <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/darklands">Darklands, or Realms of the Haunting we've personally ushered one by one into the welcoming embrace of Linux gamers. That's already quite a nice chunk of our back-catalog, and you can expect more from our dedicated Linux team soon!

Now, for the recent titles. We've got some indie games with native Linux versions that finally find their well-deserved spot in our store. Among them, debuting on Linux, - a well received original comedic Sci-Fi puzzler. On top of that, be on the lookout for two new additions to the GOG.com catalog: [url=http://www.gog.com/game/gods_will_be_watching]Gods Will Be Watching (coming in a couple of hours) and Unrest:Special Edition (Linux build coming right up!), both of them very fresh and intriguing. This is the very first time we can provide you with all the PC versions of a premiere game, and we will continue to do so in the future. If there's a Linux version of a title we're releasing, our aim is to deliver it to you Day-1. But enough about us, let's talk about the games. Here's what you can be playing on Linux today:

Anomaly Warzone Earth
Ascendant
Bionic Dues
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold - first time on Linux!
Blake Stone: Planet Strike - first time on Linux!
Bloodnet - first time on Linux!
Braveland
CLARC - first time on Linux!
Darklands - first time on Linux!
Darwinia
Defcon
Don't Starve + DLC
Dragonsphere - first time on Linux!
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
FlatOut - first time on Linux!
Flatout 2 - first time on Linux!
Fragile Allegiance - first time on Linux!
Gemini Rue
Gods Will Be Watching
Hammerwatch
Hocus Pocus - first time on Linux!
Kentucky Route Zero
The Last Federation
Legend of Grimrock
Litil Divil - first time on Linux!
Long Live the Queen
MouseCraft
Multiwinia
Normality - first time on Linux!
Pinball Gold Pack - first time on Linux!
Pinball World - first time on Linux!
Pirates! Gold Plus - first time on Linux!
Realms of the Haunting - first time on Linux!
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender - first time on Linux!
Rise of the Triad: Dark War - first time on Linux!
Shattered Haven
The Shivah HD
Sid Meier's Colonization - first time on Linux!
Sid Meier's Covert Action - first time on Linux!
Sir, You Are Being Hunted
Slipstream 5000 - first time on Linux!
Space Pirates and Zombies
Spacechem
Stargunner - first time on Linux!
SteamWorld Dig
Super Hexagon
Surgeon Simulator 2013
Sword of the Samurai - first time on Linux!
Teslagrad
Unrest:Special Edition (Linux build on the way!)
Uplink
VVVVVV

As if this wasn't exciting enough, we've put more than half of these titles on a special promo! Head out to the promo page and find out which of them you can get up to 75% off until Tuesday, 9:59AM GMT. Of course, all of the games from the list above that you already own will be updated with Linux versions with no additional cost for you, just as you might have expected from GOG.com.

"OK, but how will Linux support actually work on GOG.com" - you might ask. For both native Linux versions, as well as special builds prepared by our team, GOG.com will provide distro-independent tar.gz archives and support convenient DEB installers for the two most popular Linux distributions: Ubuntu and Mint, in their current and future LTS editions. Helpful and responsive customer support has always been an important part of the GOG.com gaming experience. We wouldn't have it any other way when it comes to Linux, and starting today our helpdesk offers support for our official Linux releases on Ubuntu and Mint systems.

Diversity and freedom of choice have always been an important part of the GOG.com way. We're very glad that we could improve our service with the addition of the free (and DRM-Free) alternative to the commercial operating systems. Talking with gamers is just as important, so we're counting on your feedback! If you've got any questions, suggestions, or run into any trouble, just tell us in the forum thread below this post. Just please be gentle, this is [url=http://youtu.be/qBxbPts5tOk" target="_blank]our very first time[/url] with Linux. Happy launch day, everyone!
Posted July 26, 2014
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Future_Suture: How difficult would it be for GOG to get the Linux rights for Warsow? It's available in practically every distribution's package manager.
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Daliz: ...which is why it's probably not high on their priority list.
I'd rather see more native Linux versions of non-free games missing from GOG right now, like LSL Reloaded etc.
...Still an easy way to beef up the Linux game numbers, however. Plus, having an open source game available definitely gives GOG some credit.
Posted July 26, 2014
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yaster: You need to add filters to the Library (My Games). It's nightmare to navigate and search doesn't works with linux keyword...
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Venom: We've added this option. You can now type "linux", "ubuntu", "mint", "mac" or "osx" in the search field on My Account and the list will be filtered accordingly.
Brilliant.
Posted July 26, 2014
high rated
Regarding the "GOG isn't really supporting Linux" sentiment, that is a ridiculous statement to make.

If they had to support every obscure, barely used, fledging or non-popular system that runs under Linux, they'd never be able to say they supported Linux, even if every game on GOG worked on Linux for every GOGger, because at any time, someone could decide to implement a new shell that only they use.

It's actually really nice to see GOG doing this just how I would. A file for most commonly usable packaging system (it can be installed via Alien on non-debian systems) and the tarball for anyone else.

It's not the perfect solution, but it is a reasonable one. Bash GOG when they do or say stupid crap that doesn't make sense (this happens often enough to get your fill), by all means.. but don't bash them as they start walking because you want them to fly.
Posted July 26, 2014
low rated
I'm going to answer to everyone at once here, and this will be my final post on this thread, since I don't want to fight an army of unknowledgeable lusers who try to make me shut up while not checking anything or even trying to understand what I write.

1. Linux is a Kernel, not an OS. Making an OS out of it requires to add several software, including a shell.
2. Many distributions have an alternative shell, and the reason why so many different software can work the same way is the POSIX SPECIFICATION. So it IS possible to make a script work everywhere. That's called "portability".
3. Requiring `bash` is unnecessary (the standard shell does provide the same functionality) and ill-advised (bash is bloated, slow, and can easily be avoided). I however agree that, like some people mentioned, is is fortunate that the shebang used for a bash script is /bin/bash, and not /bin/sh like some distributions do. There's at least that.

Conclusion:

- GOG announced the "Linux support", and I expected to run my games on Linux. They don't. I wasn't saying anything else: it's just done wrong. I expected different things.
- For me, bash is utterly annoying and is unnecessary. You know what else is unnecessary and annoying? DRMs.

So, with that announce, GOG did teach me two things:

1. They are failing at supporting Linux (like Valve, don't worry, they're not alone to do it wrong).
2. They are forcing me to install software I do not want on my computer (such as DRMs for all of us).

I'm sad, because I expected them to not fail on that one, since it's not SO hard to do it right.
Post edited July 26, 2014 by bln
Posted July 26, 2014
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JoeyJoeJoe87: I still can't figure out what to do with the tarballs.
Don't feel so bad.
Posted July 26, 2014
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bln: - GOG announced the "Linux support", and I expected to run my games on Linux. They don't. I wasn't saying anything else: it's just done wrong. I expected different things.
Welcome to the exact same experience the Windows and Mac gamers get with GOG.

You're not getting treated any differently.
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bln: - For me, bash is utterly annoying and is unnecessary. You know what else is unnecessary and annoying? DRMs.
You missed the part where DRM actually causes harm, but bash doesn't.

If you don't like how slow and bloated bash is, send in patches.
Post edited July 26, 2014 by xyem
Posted July 26, 2014
low rated
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bln: - GOG announced the "Linux support", and I expected to run my games on Linux. They don't. I wasn't saying anything else: it's just done wrong. I expected different things.
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xyem: Welcome to the exact same experience the Windows and Mac gamers get with GOG.

You're not getting treated any differently.
I know, right? But Linux has room to make it different. To make it better. Their games could even work on UNIXes, provided that an X server is available, and that with MINIMAL changes. I'm so sad and disappointed... =/
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xyem: If you don't like how slow and bloated bash is, send in patches.
I would, but I tell you what... GOG is paying someone to do that job. And this person isn't me.

EDIT: Ah crap, you got me, I did answer. Well, that won't happen, I'm going to PM the rest.
Post edited July 26, 2014 by bln
Posted July 26, 2014
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bln: I know, right? But Linux has room to make it different. To make it better. Their games could even work on UNIXes, provided that an X server is available, and that with MINIMAL changes. I'm so sad and disappointed... =/
One of the few decent reasons they had for not supporting Linux is because they had no experience with it at all. Teething issues can be expected.

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xyem: If you don't like how slow and bloated bash is, send in patches.
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bln: I would, but I tell you what... GOG is paying someone to do that job. And this person isn't me.
They are paying someone to get the games working in Linux. This has been achieved. Not ideally, but it has been achieved. I meant that if you don't like how slow bash is, send in patches to the bash people to speed it up.

It's also not me, unfortunately. I would have applied but I can't really justify moving to Poland for a job you can do remotely, especially having recently become a father.

However, if the person at GOG doing the Linux side of it is actually into the Linux philosophy, send in patches to them, they will appreciate them!
Post edited July 26, 2014 by xyem
Posted July 26, 2014
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xyem: Welcome to the exact same experience the Windows and Mac gamers get with GOG.

You're not getting treated any differently.
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bln: I know, right? But Linux has room to make it different. To make it better. Their games could even work on UNIXes, provided that an X server is available, and that with MINIMAL changes. I'm so sad and disappointed... =/
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xyem: If you don't like how slow and bloated bash is, send in patches.
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bln: I would, but I tell you what... GOG is paying someone to do that job. And this person isn't me.

EDIT: Ah crap, you got me, I did answer. Well, that won't happen, I'm going to PM the rest.
And instead of contacting GoG and trying to convince them to change their mind in the first place you wasted countless time to whine and insult people in this thread?
Not to speak of the DRM-Part (what DRM?)

Sounds reasonable.

EoD I guess...
Posted July 26, 2014
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bln: - GOG announced the "Linux support", and I expected to run my games on Linux. They don't. I wasn't saying anything else: it's just done wrong. I expected different things.
Linux isn't a singular operating system; system requirements always apply, especially when you are not using one of the common distributions.

If the games you are having issues with are native ports (rather than Wine or DOSBox) you could also try to contact the original developers since GOG might not be able to properly fix things in those cases.
Post edited July 26, 2014 by Arkose
Posted July 26, 2014
Sorry "bln", you're so wrong. In so many ways...
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bln: 1. Linux is a Kernel, not an OS. Making an OS out of it requires to add several software, including a shell.
You're right Linux is a kernel and a kernel alone is useless. You need some userspace tools to make sense out of it, like WebOS, OpenWRT, or Android. This is called an operating system. So is Debian, Fedora, SuSE, Arch, Ubuntu and thousands of other "Linux Distributions". Richard Stallmann begs you to call it "GNU/Linux", but Debian, Fedora and Co. just call them self "Linux". So Linux is both: A Kernel and an operating system that conforms to the "Linux Standard Base"

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bln: 2. Many distributions have an alternative shell, and the reason why so many different software can work the same way is the POSIX SPECIFICATION. So it IS possible to make a script work everywhere. That's called "portability".
Have you ever read the POSIX Spec? It's a specification for sourcecode compatibilty between different UNIXes.
Part of it specifies the commands and the "ksh" with it's keywords "case, do, done,elif else, esac, fi, for, if, in, then, until, while"
If you need more functionality you have to use an other shell then "ksh"

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bln: 3. Requiring `bash` is unnecessary (the standard shell does provide the same functionality) and ill-advised (bash is bloated, slow, and can easily be avoided). I however agree that, like some people mentioned, is is fortunate that the shebang used for a bash script is /bin/bash, and not /bin/sh like some distributions do. There's at least that.
Year there are many shells out there and 90% of them follow the POSIX standard; but it's easy to get to a point where you need more functionality in your script that POSIX could offer. That's the Problem, these extensions arn't specified. So every shell-flavour does it a little bit different. See ZSH for example. At the moment it's the safest way for GOG.com to assume that the de facto standard shell (bash) is installed on your PC. If your shell is 100% bash compatible link /bin/bash to your shell.

My conclusion:

- GOG announced "Linux support", but it is "Ubuntu Support" and "Linux without Support".
There is this thing called LSB, to offer binary compatibility between different GNU/Linux Distributions. It would be great if GOG.com could support this.
- For me, it is utterly stupid to compare bash with any kind of DRM. /bin/bash won't run in daemonmode on your pc. When you exit your game, the bash is gone. It will not overwrite your files, it doesn't phone home, or won't do any other harm to your pc.
Posted July 26, 2014
Thank you GoG, you can hold on to my wallet for a bit. I mean, it'll save us both some time if you do. Is wallet holding a service? It should be. 30-day wallet holding, feature request.
Posted July 26, 2014
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JoeyJoeJoe87: I still can't figure out what to do with the tarballs. Do I have to compile it or something? I never understood what tarballs even were. I unzipped it, but nothing inside works at all.

Or maybe Manjaro is just incapable of dealing with them?
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CatShannon: What the others have said already: simply unpack the tar file (a tar file is an archive that can contain multiple files/folders) and run the start script:

./start.sh

Alternatively, you can run the game launcher directly, which seems to be always located in the "game" folder.

I've tried this myself for Anomaly Warzone Earth and Gimini Rue now (which GOG.com offers the native Linux version for, I'm impressed!). Works like a charm. I'm running Archlinux 64-bit, by the way.

What exactly have you tried so far?

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Antimateria: What's the advantage of using linux and can you have windows and linux in the same hard drive?
Is linux only for people who are very good with IT-stuff or can common person achieve mastery?
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CatShannon: Yes, Windows and Linux can be installed on the same hard drive, in different partitions though. Linux has evolved a lot over the years and can be used by everyone. One does not need to be an IT guru to get started with Linux. However, you must be willing to learn. If you have never seen or worked with anything else than Windows on a computer, there's a lot of new stuff to learn. If you just expect to find another Windows system for free (as in free of charge) you will be disappointed.
Ok, so how do I run the start script?
Posted July 26, 2014
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JoeyJoeJoe87: Ok, so how do I run the start script?
I've already mentioned that.

Change into to game folder and type "./start.sh" (without the quotes!) in a terminal or run the script from your preferred file manager.
Posted July 26, 2014
Linux support!
Very nice :)
Post edited July 26, 2014 by NoYzE1
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionGOG.com Now Supports Linux!(1233 posts)(1233 posts)
(1233 posts)