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General discussionWhy is GoG so unfriendly toward Linux?(206 posts)(206 posts)
(206 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 19, 2021
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Gersen: That's what I used when my main OS was Linux and I still use it today now that I am back to Windows as my main OS. Yes you need to reboot but in the M2 era we are talking about a couple of seconds.
I found myself dual booting as well at some point, but after a while, once I managed to get all my games running in Linux/Wine one way or another, it became quite apparent I would not use Windows any more at all. Heck, I kept it around for a year as a backup option and don't think I ever booted it. Wasted space. A few months ago I simply wiped it and increased the size of my Linux home partition :P. Goodbye Microsoft, for life.

Caveat emptor, and a point on which I concede, I don't really play "the latest and greatest" games these days, at least not any more. But stuff like Dying Light, CP2077, The Witcher 3, Mad Max, Hellblade etc. (or what I would call fairly recent games) run flawlessly with maybe, maybe 10% performance difference vs Windows. And that's a tradeoff I'm more than willing to make.

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rtcvb32: Not sure if a distro needs to be gaming focused.
To get the attention of the average non-technical gamer, I'd argue it needs to be. To people who were planning on using/learning Linux anyway, it obviously does not - you'll get to a point where you can spin it up into whatever you want it to be.

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rtcvb32: Are we talking the kernel or the other components? Linux is purely the kernel, though people tend to lump the whole package as linux.
It gets tedious to say GNU/Linux all the time, but yes, 99% of people mean that when saying Linux, including myself :P.
Post edited November 19, 2021 by WinterSnowfall
Posted November 20, 2021
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rtcvb32: Are we talking the kernel or the other components? Linux is purely the kernel, though people tend to lump the whole package as linux.
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WinterSnowfall: It gets tedious to say GNU/Linux all the time, but yes, 99% of people mean that when saying Linux, including myself :P.
Mentioning GNU is useful when non-GNU Linux systems (like Alpine Linux or even Android) are being discussed. (It's like the term "sighted"; it's generally not used unless blindness is the focus of the discussion.
Posted November 20, 2021
List of games I have obtained from GOG recently that have a Linux version as well. Most recent first.

Terraformers: First Steps on Mars
Vaporum
We Happy Few
This Is the Police 2
Lumencraft Demo
Lumo
Mission Critical
Sacred Fire Demo
One Dreamer: Prologue
Conglomerate 451
Deep Sky Derelicts
Caravan
Jenny LeClue - Detectivu
Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure
Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth
ΔV: Rings of Saturn Demo
Hedon Demo
Spindle Demo
Death Trash Demo
Slender Threads: Prologue
Wanderlust: Transsiberian
BATTLETECH

That's all the ones on the first page in my library that goes back to - 25th July 2021

Some of those also had a Mac version, and many missing from the above list had a Mac version but no Linux version.

I fully realize some of those are not new at GOG, but they were on sale. All the Demos & Prologues were definitely new.

I guess out of a 100 on my first library page, 22 isn't a real big number, but it would vary according to taste anyway. And I never buy a game based on whether it has a Linux version.

Maybe others can provide a list of Linux version games they have gotten in that same time period from GOG.
Posted November 20, 2021
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Timboli: I guess out of a 100 on my first library page, 22 isn't a real big number, but it would vary according to taste anyway. And I never buy a game based on whether it has a Linux version.
According to GOG's new catalog browsing system, there are 3986 games and bundles available for purchase.
Out of those, according to the filter option &systems=linux, 1125 titles have Linux included in the system requirements, or around 28% of all games and bundles currently available.
If many Linux builds weren't either neglected or licensed, this number could be even higher.
Posted November 20, 2021
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Ruvika: The problem is that many developers doesn't take the time to support Linux because it doesn't worth it on GOG, it barely worth it on Steam for the number of Linux users (1% and less than 0.8% the users of Ubuntu). Small companies support it because it's a work of passion, but the biggers companies just see the numers.
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Frogmancer: Though Steam has over 1 billion accounts since 2019 so a small amount is still millions of Linux users on Steam and when developers post purchase information Mac and Linux purchases are about the same for most games.

Go and see GOG games like Northgard they list GOG Galaxy is required for multiplayer in the system requirements so the Linux port is a gimped version with the multiplayer stripped out.

The Galaxy SDK is like Valves Steamworks, developers on Steam can build their games against it for all platforms for cloud saves, achievements and multiplayer, but developers who add a Linux port on GOG need to strip all of that out and make it a separate thing from the GOG Windows and Mac port due to no Galaxy SDK for Linux which is GOG causing loads of extra work for the developers who support Linux compared to Valve and their amazing support.
Yeah, I totally understand you, it's a shit don't have support for your OS, but in the end I also have to understand the devs. You can say Steam has over 1B accounts, but how many are actually users? According to those numbers there are 100M Linux users, and there are 0.44% of RTX3090 that means that 44M of users has a 3090 and use them for gaming and not mining, and not even has distribute those many. And even if there are not everyone will purchase a game, the percentages are low on Steam and you have to scale those numbers to 1/10 here on GOG. It just no worth it for them. Trust me, if one day I release a game I would love to support all the OS and Stores on the same level, but no everyone think like me and would do the same.
Posted November 21, 2021
Linux is seen as unfriendly too noobs and also doesn't come packaged with OS's. Let's face it, most gamers are used to Windows right now. There hasn't really been that killer app or hardware to make gamers move there (to Linux); and Windows is still familiar & functional enough as an OS...for now.

Right now, there just ain't tons of $ to be made on Linux gaming. Microsoft got everybody locked in back around Windows 95 and with DirectX w/ their OS and their graphics API....and the freight train's been going strong for the most part, even since. Yeah, there's been hiccups along the way - i.e. Windows ME, Vista, 8 - but they always found a way to bounce back somehow & someway.

About Valve - they have a lot of money, so they can and really want to afford & invest into...stuff. They innovated w/ Steam and now they control the PC gaming digital distribution market. They've been gearing up since around W7 and W8, for the moment Microsoft slips up....and they can just push Proton/SteamOS/Linux, as they know many gamers do get fed-up w/ Microsoft and their non-sense.

And I do wonder, if we could see more gamers flock to Linux/Proton/SteamOS, if all goes well w/ Steam Deck. If Steam Deck takes off, it could cause more gamers to use Linux, since that's pretty much what Steam Deck will utilize. PC gamers been wanting something small to take with them and fit in their hands, similar to Switch to go w/ them anywhere - and Steam Deck could be that killer device for Linux. Since tons of PC gamers have a Steam catalog and likely a Steam backlog (thanks to Bundle Sites and cheap Steam sales) - this could be great, if all goes right.

So, why does that matter? Well, if Steam Deck takes off HUGE and gamers adopt it, it would be interesting to see if more dev's and publishers decide to bring stuff to Linux. They might basically have no choice, it Steam Deck's a smashing success and PC gamers flock there; especially when PC prices for hardware like GPU's are pretty much insane right now.

If anyone can influence the PC market to go to Linux market, it could be Valve. And I could see others like dev's, pub's, and even GOG follow suit, if need be - if everybody and their brother, sister, and cousin gets a Steam Deck.
Post edited November 21, 2021 by MysterD
Posted November 21, 2021
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Deimos_Fresh: I wonder if GOG simply understaffed to deal with whatever distro the user might have.
Most probably the company bean counters have told their staff not to use time and resources (too much) on things that they don't believe are bringing that much money to the company.

I am sure there are some people even in GOG staff that would like to use all their time with Linux support, but the bean counters don't want them to use their paid worktime for that, but something else instead.
Posted November 21, 2021
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MysterD: And I do wonder, if we could see more gamers flock to Linux/Proton/SteamOS, if all goes well w/ Steam Deck. If Steam Deck takes off, it could cause more gamers to use Linux, since that's pretty much what Steam Deck will utilize.
Maybe, but most users/gamers probably don't care that much what OS or hardware their device is running, as long as it works.

When people use their Android phones, they don't think "oooh so this is based on Linux?!? Maybe I should uninstall Windows on my home PC too and install ArchLinux on it?". They just use their Android phone over whatever simplified user-interface there is to make it as easy as possible.

Not sure how Steam Deck operates, but I presume it is constantly pushing the Steam (TV?) user-interface to the user by default so that they don't ever see some GNOME desktop environment or a bash shell behind it. Getting to those probably takes extra effort and is hidden from the user by default.

However, even then the success of Steam Deck would certainly help PC Linux gamers as well, at least those who are willing to use Steam on Linux (but probably also others), because Steam Deck is still pushing the same Proton/WINE/whatever compatibility to PC games, that PC Linux gamers can use as well.
Posted November 21, 2021
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_Auster_: According to GOG's new catalog browsing system, there are 3986 games and bundles available for purchase.
Out of those, according to the filter option &systems=linux, 1125 titles have Linux included in the system requirements, or around 28% of all games and bundles currently available.
If many Linux builds weren't either neglected or licensed, this number could be even higher.
Thanks for the info.

I think 28% is probably quite a reasonable percentage seeing as GOG don't actually sell Linux games as such, just as a bonus when you buy the Windows version.

Of course those of us wanting Linux versions will always want the number available to be higher.

It is great that GOG do provide Linux versions, as objectively they did not have to. Though one could argue, that it was more important in the beginning, when GOG were first starting out, to attract as many customers as they could. Perhaps they could even do away with them now, with very little impact on overall profits. But luckily for us it certainly seems like they are still continuing to support the addition of Linux versions. If they ever decided not to, then I doubt they would waste resources on providing game demos with a Linux version. And as you can see from my list, the demos are still fairly often.

I grab every demo as it appears on GOG. My list only focuses on them plus what I actually bought. I saw many more games with Linux versions when I was browsing and deciding on game purchases, and while I don't buy a game because it has an available Linux version at GOG, it can certainly factor when I am looking for incentives to make a purchase ... just as LAN play can also help me decide to purchase.

I wonder if the new filters available might show how many games with Linux versions have been added to the store in the last 6 months for instance?
Posted November 21, 2021
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Timboli: I wonder if the new filters available might show how many games with Linux versions have been added to the store in the last 6 months for instance?
Not directly, at least. The best I could do is to filter by released in 2021 and compare everything released this year (425 games and bundles) against the ones that have Linux included (65). According to these numbers, around 15% of the games released here on GOG since Jan. 1 have Linux versions included.
Posted November 22, 2021
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_Auster_: Not directly, at least. The best I could do is to filter by released in 2021 and compare everything released this year (425 games and bundles) against the ones that have Linux included (65). According to these numbers, around 15% of the games released here on GOG since Jan. 1 have Linux versions included.
Goodo, and I guess that is a fair number considering, and would no doubt fluctuate year to year, especially as GOG tend to focus on certain things for a period. Ultimately of course, it would be good to get a yearly breakdown to see if there has been a downturn over the years or it is just luck of the draw any one year. GOG of course seem to focus on what is most profitable or can draw new customers to their store.

Perhaps a more realistic evaluation would involve number of gamers who have switched solely to Linux now. Linux would not be a real important target if most Linux users are still using Windows in some capacity. Of course that can be needs based and even a bit Catch-22.

According to my records, I have 326 entries for Linux at GOG, most of them being games, a few demos and some DLCs ... though most DLCs come under the game title for me ... sometimes I make an exception when I buy them independently (i.e. Season Pass). Anyway, that is roughly 520+ Gb. In comparison I have about 1370 (5 Tb) of Windows games at GOG. When you consider how many people use Windows and how many use Linux, and the fact that a good number use both, that's probably a good ratio.
Post edited November 22, 2021 by Timboli
Posted November 22, 2021
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timppu: Never!

No reason. Another Ubuntu derivative for home users, right? I guess I could use it too, if I felt I wasn't happy with what I am already using.

Oh and it apparently has GNOME by defauilt, not a big fan of that but I guess I could use it too. I tend to use XFCE with Mint because XFCE is supposed to be lightweight (doesn't use much resources for useless eye-candy etc.) and does everything I want from a desktop environment.
Linux Mint is a good distro (especially for those coming from Windows), although I find Cinnamon has some minor annoyances.
Since you are using XFCE, have you ever had the panel crash when trying to remove a program from it? I've seen it happen with media players (such as Parole or Rhythmbox) in both Mint 20.2 and Xubuntu 21.10. Not in Manjaro though, which is curious.
Posted November 22, 2021
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timppu: Never!

No reason. Another Ubuntu derivative for home users, right? I guess I could use it too, if I felt I wasn't happy with what I am already using.

Oh and it apparently has GNOME by defauilt, not a big fan of that but I guess I could use it too. I tend to use XFCE with Mint because XFCE is supposed to be lightweight (doesn't use much resources for useless eye-candy etc.) and does everything I want from a desktop environment.
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patrikc: Linux Mint is a good distro (especially for those coming from Windows), although I find Cinnamon has some minor annoyances.
Since you are using XFCE, have you ever had the panel crash when trying to remove a program from it? I've seen it happen with media players (such as Parole or Rhythmbox) in both Mint 20.2 and Xubuntu 21.10. Not in Manjaro though, which is curious.
hmm this linux sounds so inconsistent and buggy
Posted November 22, 2021
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Orkhepaj: hmm this linux sounds so inconsistent and buggy
Bugs are to be expected in any operating system. Don't tell me you never had to kill or restart a process in Windows due to unresponsiveness. Or that you never experienced a BSOD.
Now, the XFCE panel issue - that's not something that will break your system and there's a simple workaround: press Alt+F2, type xfce4-panel, hit Enter. Not that difficult, right?
Posted November 22, 2021
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Orkhepaj: hmm this linux sounds so inconsistent and buggy
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patrikc: Bugs are to be expected in any operating system. Don't tell me you never had to kill or restart a process in Windows due to unresponsiveness. Or that you never experienced a BSOD.
Now, the XFCE panel issue - that's not something that will break your system and there's a simple workaround: press Alt+F2, type xfce4-panel, hit Enter. Not that difficult, right?
sounds very difficult and probably wont work with kde
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionWhy is GoG so unfriendly toward Linux?(206 posts)(206 posts)
(206 posts)