Hi Uber, Can you tell us how's the multiplatforming going? I never saw this kind of technical questions here - be it windows or not - but as you have quite an experience with windows, I'd guess you'll have no problem with that. But I really doubt you have any linux-related experience at all. Moreover, if mac have at least some gaming industry, which means that there are some programmers for hire, linux at the moment have none. So how do you plan to do this? I really hope that you are going for domestic development, not just outsource the porting to some halfass loosers who could never properly do the support. Will there be a linux alpha/beta version as well?
A lot of key Linux development on a great many projects is done all over the world, you know Do you mean, "don't outsource to cheapass clowns, even if it's just because they're domestic!"
Yep, and none of them are games. And the ones that are, are open source community projects which people do in their spare time, not professionaly. That's what I meant: "not that many professional linux game developers out there" I meant "inside uber". I don't care what country the guy's in, as long as he's employed by (and gets his *** kicked by) uber. I'm russian myself, btw
I think neutrino wrote somewhere that they are developing the whole thing on all plattforms at the same time, so there is no porting done afterwards. He also wrote that most of the developers are working with the windows-version, but not all of them. So I guess it can be concluded that they will not outsource anything.
It's not that hard to develop a game to be cross-platform, using a near-identical codebase for Windows, Mac, and Linux, provided you make good choices for the APIs and you start the project with a multiplatform goal in mind. Uber did the latter, and in a recent post, Mavor did mention some of the cross-platform libraries they're using, so there doesn't seem to be any reason for concern. Really, the major challenge is getting the thing installed, as that's where the major system differences come into play, especially on Linux. (But again, this isn't THAT big a deal.)
Yes, I know that it's doable and I know that uber planned multiplatform from the very beginning. What I wonder, is how they are managing it. Software development is a lengthy process, apart from writing the code (which can be done even on commodore64, nobody cares) you need to build, run, test, debug - all on target platform. Not to mention that the graphics on linux is in turmoil right now: proprietary AMD/Nvidia drivers, opensource AMD/Nvidia/Intel drivers - each has it's own glitches and problems (well, exclude Nvidia opensource, it's not gonna run this game anyway ). And that's what I want to hear about: how is it going?
Linux, Windows and Mac OS is all being developed in house by the same group of people. We are not currently outsourcing anything, and likely not on the engineering front ever, though in an infinite universe, anything is possible. Does that assuage concerns on that front?
It certainly does, good to hear. Because after seeing a couple of games ported by some freaks who obviously didn't even bother to launch what they had ported, I'd better go with wine. But this leaves the original question: "so how it's going on?". Are there people dedicated to test the linux builds? Will we see the linux alpha/beta? (I guess same questions goes for mac, but I'm a linux user, I'm concerned only with linux )
I too am a linux user, and I'm exceptionally excited about PA for linux As soon as that alpha shows up, I'll be all over that madness.
Without going into too much detail, here's how our core process works: - We check in a piece of code - Our build server kicks off a new build - It immediately pops out reports for Linux, Windows and Mac, as to whether each build passed or failed. We stay on top of these errors, making sure all our builds.. well, build. This doesn't solve every problem, of course, but it at least means we're always making sure all our platforms compile. I have worked in the past on projects where one platform was focused on and delayed working on the other one. I can state unequivocally that this is a "really bad idea" (tm).
This is pretty much standard for many cross-platform developers that know what they're doing. Focusing on one and porting later just ends up costing more time and money. If you know the project requirements in advance, this is the route you tend to take. I suspect your concerns, radistmorse, may arise from ports such as those in certain Humble Bundles. The problem with several of the HIB's is that devs were so eager to get some of that sweet HIB action that they quickly fudged a port together to be eligible. Fortunately, Linux and Mac are rapidly becoming widely accepted, to the point where proper cross-platform standards are becoming common, for exactly that purpose of saving on development time and money.
Hm, I think that means that the compile-time tests are the only tests you have right now. For some reason I didn't think of that... Could've guessed actually, considering the early stage of development you're in right now. But anyway, I'm glad you're going to treat all the platforms equally. Hope to see linux alpha/beta, and the same amount of equality for the support. You'll see that linux folks are generally better at reporting the bugs Oh, and please build 64-bit version as well! I don't know how the windows guys still tolerate 32-bits executables, but in linux world 64-bits are dominant for the long time already. Especially on desktops. Just because 64-bits can emulate 32 and not vice versa is not the reason to not provide a simple binary.
I thought exactly the same thing. Neutrino even requested to change from 32 to 64. I mean, cmon, check before saying something.
But he could have plugged "planetary annihilation 64 bit" into Google and the FIRST LINK would have said IN THE SEARCH RESULTS "We're confirming support for 64-bit operating systems." It would have taken less time to do that than to write that desparate plea to Uber for 64-bit support. I love that this community is friendly and answers noob questions with minimal snark but I think we all would appreciate a display of effort from the questioner.
Guys, I think you're taking it too serious. I just added that last paragraph in the end in the last minute because it just came to my mind and I thought it would be a good place to write it. I didn't know it was such a sensible spot. And truth to be told, after I saw the steam coming to linux in 32-bits only version I wouldn't be too much surprised if it turned out uber just overlooked that matter.
Guys - let's not get in the habit of doing "dog pile on the rabbit" style posts. If one person has already mentioned that it's a topic well discussed, you can feel free to leave it alone and move on to the next topic. One call out per faux pas is more than enough.
