X4 and Linux

segmentationfault · Post by **segmentationfault** » Sat, 23. Dec 17, 13:43

Is there any indications yet how likely it is that we would get X4 for Linux? Are the possible porting issues on 3rd party middleware side or something Linux has to do better first (like Vulkan drivers)?

Post by **CBJ** » Sat, 23. Dec 17, 13:59

The Q&A sticky thread at the top of the forum wrote:Will there be a Linux version?
This is not decided yet. But as all previous games had a linux version and part of the technology we're using (e.g. Vulkan rendering engine) is designed to work on Linux too, there's a good chance for one.

ezra-r · Post by **ezra-r** » Fri, 29. Dec 17, 18:40

just to let you know I wish for this one too

X Rebirth for Linux in the end works gloriously.

Unbekanntes Feindschiff

I'd guess EGOSOFT is aware that many of their core fanbase play their titles on Linux. The question was also raised at X-CON quite often. However, while being dedicated to the games, we simply aren't what makes EGOSOFT money and as passionate as EGOSOFT is about developing the X games, at the end of the day they want to make money out of it. In addition most X fans who game on Linux would buy the game anyway and grudgingly install Windows on a seperate partition, so EGOSOFT propably isn't gaining too much extra money by releasing a Linux version, just making people happy

Speculation: I guess they try on keeping things as platform-independent as possible during development, then will quite shortly before release assess the amount of work it costs them to port that to Linux. If it's a few changes, they'll do them and release it on release day, if it's quite some work, there'll propably be a Linux version at a later date and if it's an enormous amount of work (not very likely, but possible), they'll just not do a Linux version

fooka · Post by **fooka** » Mon, 15. Jan 18, 03:49

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please release a Linux version of this game!

I don't have windows, I haven't for literally decades.. I joined this forum over 10 years ago, I have played the crap out of the X series as it has been released for Linux and pine away for games like Elite and Star citizen, but i have no hope for them and no faith that they'll ever come to linux..

I've been following the nuggets released about X4 though, since it's started, and X4 is shaping up so well! I can scarcely contain myself it is so good!!

Since X4 stands a real excellent chance of coming out for Linux, I implore you PLEASE let this be a thing!

thank you in advance,
a dedicated pilot.

steve_v · Post by **steve_v** » Thu, 25. Jan 18, 10:40

fooka wrote:I don't have windows, I haven't for literally decades...

Ditto.

I'll gladly buy anything X, so long as it runs on GNU/Linux. I even bought Rebirth, though I can't stand to actually play it.
But I'm not going to install Windows, and I'm sure as hell not going to pay for it. Not even for X4.

Egosoft, please release a Linux port so that I can buy your game.

kurush · Post by **kurush** » Sat, 27. Jan 18, 01:08

ezra-r wrote:just to let you know I wish for this one too

X Rebirth for Linux in the end works gloriously.

It certainly does. Linux version was the only reason I actually bought it. I was fully aware that the gameplay is not really comparable to the previous titles I liked, but a linux version convinced me at the end.
I just hope that a linux version would not be the ONLY reason I am buying it as it was the case with a handful of people with Rebirth apparently

ttheobald · Post by **ttheobald** » Sun, 28. Jan 18, 00:01

...the OS just isn't popular enough to justify working with a completely separate codebase, testing routine, deployment plan, installation set, etc.

I say this as the former product manager for Kylix (Delphi for linux). There's just not enough money to justify the extra work for the extra OS at launch date. When you're working on a budget, you target the biggest platform you can - and that's Windows.

That said, Linux users have an out - pick up VMware's free Hypervisor and run a Windows image on that. There is some overhead, so your screamer PC might not get it's total hardware allocation that you'd want, but it's a solution to be live on launch day. Alternatively, set up a dual-boot. You can get an OEM license for Windows 10 for under twenty bucks on amazon (download and register, no CD), so the extra OS won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Hope this helps -

T

fooka · Post by **fooka** » Mon, 29. Jan 18, 04:53

it doesn't really help.. but fear not, all the previous X games back to 2 have come out for linux, so it must be worth it on some level, eh?

^_^

RainerPrem · Post by **RainerPrem** » Mon, 29. Jan 18, 05:24

ttheobald wrote:...the OS just isn't popular enough to justify working with a completely separate codebase, testing routine, deployment plan, installation set, etc.

I say this as the former product manager for Kylix (Delphi for linux). There's just not enough money to justify the extra work for the extra OS at launch date. When you're working on a budget, you target the biggest platform you can - and that's Windows.

That said, Linux users have an out - pick up VMware's free Hypervisor and run a Windows image on that. There is some overhead, so your screamer PC might not get it's total hardware allocation that you'd want, but it's a solution to be live on launch day. Alternatively, set up a dual-boot. You can get an OEM license for Windows 10 for under twenty bucks on amazon (download and register, no CD), so the extra OS won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Hope this helps -

T

Hi,

A big lot has changed in the Windows/Linux world since the early 2000s. There are a lot of libraries supporting both OSs. And Egosoft has already enough experience from publishing XR on Linux.

cu
Rainer

ezra-r · Post by **ezra-r** » Thu, 22. Feb 18, 15:02

RainerPrem wrote:
ttheobald wrote:...the OS just isn't popular enough to justify working with a completely separate codebase, testing routine, deployment plan, installation set, etc.

I say this as the former product manager for Kylix (Delphi for linux). There's just not enough money to justify the extra work for the extra OS at launch date. When you're working on a budget, you target the biggest platform you can - and that's Windows.

That said, Linux users have an out - pick up VMware's free Hypervisor and run a Windows image on that. There is some overhead, so your screamer PC might not get it's total hardware allocation that you'd want, but it's a solution to be live on launch day. Alternatively, set up a dual-boot. You can get an OEM license for Windows 10 for under twenty bucks on amazon (download and register, no CD), so the extra OS won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Hope this helps -

T
Hi,

A big lot has changed in the Windows/Linux world since the early 2000s. There are a lot of libraries supporting both OSs. And Egosoft has already enough experience from publishing XR on Linux.

cu
Rainer

and let's not forget X3:R and x3:TC and X3:AP all under linux and working wonderfully.

Besides they seem to be using vulkan for X4 so we can certainly keep our hopes up. Not at release date for the big platform? ok...

---btw, although I appreciate the feedback and I don't appreciate anyone suggesting me to install Vmware + windows or similar. Must be a geek thing.

nekoexmachina · Post by **nekoexmachina** » Thu, 8. Mar 18, 16:50

I *really* hope for a linux version. Would buy nonetheless, but using wine or windows to run my next favorite game would be a pita.

I say this as the former product manager for Kylix[

I'm sorry to break this, but Kylix, unfortunatelly, always was just a *bad* product.

lostboron · Post by **lostboron** » Sat, 14. Jul 18, 15:56

X4 on Linux has been announced

I learned about it on gamingonlinux. This is major news, I'm not sure why Egosoft decided to announce it with a reply on twitter. There is no news about it yet on the Egosoft home page, and the FAQ has not been updated.

Next on my wishlist: a bug-free version of X4 on Linux.

Next on my wishlist: X4 VR on Linux (I'm not buying VR equipment without it !)

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Sat, 14. Jul 18, 16:14

I have added a note about this to the X4 FAQ Index, but it would probably be made more official should Egosoft confirm it here too.

Vandragorax · Post by **Vandragorax** » Mon, 16. Jul 18, 17:36

How hard can it really be to set up a Windows partition / VM?

Genuine question, I haven't tried this myself as I do not use Linux! (not being facetious).

Because to me it's not like an Xbox guy complaining that he can't play a PS4 exclusive without buying a PS4, or vice versa. You already have the hardware, you just need to emulate the OS. And from my experience Linux users tend to be technically minded already. Is it just that you don't want to go near the filthy Microsoft scum OS? (which is understandable)

Post by **radcapricorn** » Mon, 16. Jul 18, 17:49

Setting up a dedicated Windows partition in an already existing Linux installation is reasonably annoying, as you have to at least re-partition your drives and/or rearrange your filesystem configuration (Linux doesn't treat drives in the same way as Windows).

Using a VM, or even Wine for that matter, is always a lottery. For the former - with the hardware, for the latter - with actual software support in Wine vs. how well the game is written.

Thing is, 90% of any PC game's code is platform-agnostic anyway. The main issue with making Linux ports as opposed to, say, Mac, is not coding the platform-specific stuff, it's distributing the binaries, which may or may not work in various Linux installations: they're too varied and rolling. Just with X3 recently, on some distributions one has to delete a certain shared library (Linux equivalent of a DLL) that ships with X3, otherwise the game doesn't start at all.

sakuramboo · Post by **sakuramboo** » Mon, 16. Jul 18, 18:49

Vandragorax wrote:How hard can it really be to set up a Windows partition / VM?

Generally speaking, it's quite easy to set up a dual boot. VM is much harder because VFIO is still a relatively new thing, so setting it up requires a lot of manual configurations.

But, for me, the issue isn't in the complexity of setting it up, it's in the annoyances of having to use it. I do 95% of my computing on Linux. So, having to reboot into Windows just to play a game for 30-60 minutes and then reboot back into Linux is a major hassle. Only to have to do this all throughout the day because my free time comes in spurts. Even with VFIO, it requires specific hardware, kernel options, and a lot of fine tuning that I would rather just play something native to Linux than to mess around trying to debug why the VM isn't loading or why WINE keeps crashing. I play games to escape from troubleshooting computer issues, I don't want to have then do this when I get home from work.

kurush · Post by **kurush** » Tue, 14. Aug 18, 00:23

lostboron wrote: Next on my wishlist: X4 VR on Linux (I'm not buying VR equipment without it !)

Do we even have one of decent VR vendors supporting linux fully? As it stands, a linux version could be the only reason I will still buy X4, similar as it was the only reason I bought Rebirth on some sale. For some reason they still want to experiment with the gameplay instead of returning to what worked for most of us, but at least they are doing linux versions now.

26072013 · Post by **26072013** » Mon, 20. Aug 18, 11:24

Vandragorax wrote:How hard can it really be to set up a Windows partition / VM?

I use Linux for three years now, and dualboot for some games into Win7. That wasn't complicated and works ok.

But dualbooting with Win10 on the other hand seems to be a pain in the arse, since Win10 upgrades (which happen every few months) can overwrite the boot partition, and make it necessary to fix the installation. I haven't experienced this first hand, but there are many reports from people having problems with this.

So, that's not great. Additionally I'd also like to avoid having to spend money on an OS that I absolutely don't agree with and would only need for a few games.

ubuntufreakdragon · Post by **ubuntufreakdragon** » Mon, 20. Aug 18, 11:56

that's why my primary bootloader is grub and Win 10 is only chainloaded.

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

X4 and Linux

X4 and Linux

yay linux

Re: yay linux

Linux use...

Re: Linux use...

Re: Linux use...