This is a topic for those who would buy a native Linux version of NS2, show your interest!
This topic is started because of the possibilities unknown worlds have with using their own in-house engine.
This thread is not to be turned into a OS fan-boy flame war.

I'll start.

I would defiantly buy a native Linux version of NS2 for my Ubuntu Hardy machine.

I would also buy a copy of NS2 to run on my Ubuntu Hardy Heron (provided my machine specs supported it).

I would be nice if a license covered you to play one copy of the game at a time regardless of platform or hardware.

I currently run a Windows system, but if NS2 was runnable on Linux I'd have one less major reason to stay on Windows. SC2 would have to be Linux compatible too.

I would buy a Linux client.

(I never liked Ubuntu, so I go with Fedora)

Also, I will point out that the deep gameplay that has always been one of the major strengths of NS is likely to appeal to the same kind of persons who actually bother to run Linux.

@ChromeAngel, yeah, only needing one license would be good, but I only run Ubuntu, so it doesn't matter to me personally.

@locallyunscene, I wouldn't hold your breath when it comes to blizzard and Linux, but anything is possible

@Private, I agree that it would suit a lot of Linux users.

( I liked fedora, but I just love apt to much. )

I know a couple of people who would like a Linux version. I personally still use Windows.

A fun note is that it's a little hard to setup for Linux since there's several packages out there unlike Windows or Macs where there's a defined up-to-date release. However, given that most Linux users tinker with their OS, I'm sure you can port it out and let them do the tinkering to get it run just right. Mind you, a decent port, just not one specific for Fedora or making sure it runs seamlessly on Hardy.

I don't think a linux version of NS2 was a priority at this moment, but if that happen, it would be great.

I would also be interested in compatibility with linux. You guys have the chance to ensure NS2 runs on whatever OS, don't lose that chance!

Now (or ideally before any graphics was coded) would be the ideal time to plan for the capacity to be cross platform. If it turns out Max has been coding this all in C# using DirectX the odds of it ever seeing a non-windows platform are tiny to non-existent. If however he's been using a cross platform friendly set of tools like ANSI C++ and openGL we at least have a ray of hope for a Linux NS2.

@spellman I hear what you're saying about Linux having lots of distros, but that's really no different than supporting all the NT based versions of Windows (was it 18 different versions of Vista I read the other day?). After all you don't expect your "games for windows" to run on windows mobile or media centre do you?.

Hell, if their was a Linux version it could come on a Live CD with a cut down distro that UWE had tuned to suit their game.

@Prefix & locallyunscene
I heard Blizzard have an OS X version of WoW, so their eyes are obviously open to non-windows based gaming. I get the impression that it's not a massive jump from running on BSD (which OS X is based on) to running on GNU/Linux.

OpenGl and Directx can be used, with options to change between the two, WoW uses either.

WoW has 300 developers, NS2 has like 5...

If the game will be sold on steam, how would they make a native linux client? You're saying you'd have to wine to get steam to work, but the executable itself would be rewritten to run natively?

@Radix, the windows version can be sold on steam, but a Linux version could be sold elsewhere - that is to say if they are infact still using steam to sell the game.

Other cross platform games have done this in the past.

Maybe a linux version could bring more players to ns, too?
There are just a few games that run on linux, therefore ns2 would have just little competition. and if a game magazine or a linux magazine writes something about a new multiplayer game that runs on linux it would attrackt some attention. people could mention ns as one of the games available for linux when arguing on forums about how vista sucks (because every forum has such a thread), again raising the popularity. linux-only users couldn't avoid ns when looking for something to play.
then again many ppl would move to linux because there's no reason to stay at windows.

I agree, sites like http://www.linuxgames.com/ would pick up on NS2 for Linux if there was a native version, and digg would too, which is constantly swarming with Linux users.

Without a doubt, if NS2 was released for Linux, it would be common knowledge for Linux gamers within a week.

Many Linux gamers buy native Linux games when they are made, just because there is a native linux version, to show they support the idea, regardless of the game.

Need more people to post if they are interested! I'm going to digg this thread tbh.

Oh believe me I know exactly what you're talking about. The trick is Windows tends to keep their core stuff the same. Linux allows users to potentially get really deep into even the kernel and change stuff, which is one of its strengths and weaknesses. I have several friends who are addicted to altering Linux. So, linux allows much more variability. Thank goodness for the community making good solid stuff people share, or else nothing would ever get distributed. And obviously it can be done. Look at the Firefox and Wine distros that can work on any of the Linux distros.

The trick is how deep they're into the fortress of code that is Windows. They might not be able to dig their way out and make it a flexible game for Mac and Linux, which would be a shame. About half of my LAN party players only play at the parties because they use Linux and Macs, but we provide PCs for them to use for the games.

I'd definitely buy NS2 twice if they sell a Linux version also.

I simply want to request that future Linux support be kept in mind when making choices. This would include picking OpenGL for rendering.

I don't think it is realistic to expect that NS2 will be released with Linux support, though. Look at Valve with Steam and Source; no doubt these apps are deeply entrenched in Windows, but even with the resources they have available, they appear to be making no moves to Linux-ize Steam or Source. I think this will eventually happen, but the more-or-less a monopoly MS has for Windows is going to keep us waiting a few more years (still, I find Ubuntu's adoption rate by my fellow gamers to be encouraging).

I am hoping that at the best, it will be ported over to Linux after release, but with no official support (I don't think id software supports Linux builds of their games as much as Windows, given the vast array of potential problems that can crop up).

Given that the tools are likely going to be Windows-only, and that there's still the majority Windows-only gamer market to cater to, I don't think it will work like we'd want.

I think Wine may offer hope though, as I've seen some interesting things about compiling directly against their provided API to create Linux ports with little to no code modification. I think picking OpenGL is still extremely important here.

edit: Perhaps you could wrastle over some of the Tremulous community, which seems largely Linux-based

Personally, when I say I'd buy a Linux copy, I don't expect support, because I know the developers will have to make an effort to put it on the linux market.

Our tools are actually platform independent. We use the fantastic wxWidgets library for all of our user interface work.

Have you considered making some of the tools, such as the level editor, open source, so that others could help contribute to the tools ?

I was thinking the exact same thing! I explect the community is going to be using the tools as much as anyone, and involving us in thier making could be very beneficial for a number of reasons. Max would be able to focus more of his attention on the engine itself, and if we (we being us that is likely to use the tools a lot) are involved in the creation of tools, we will be deeply familiar with them even before the release of the NS2TR.

That being said, writing a particular compiler (or whatever) as a community over a couple of months might no be preferable if everyone needs it fast to get some work done, and Max can just go hack the same thing together in a couple of afternoons.
What I am getting at here is that it would be fairly easy to assemble a team from this community to work on a tool or two, but we would probably lack the years of development experience, and we would certainly lack the engine knowledge, to make a tool project come together faster than Max could do on his own. Still, with some guidance from the dev team, this is a minor concern.

Yeah, UWE will need look after themselves and direct the tool to where they need it on their time table. Releasing the tools with the code would allow other people to extend the tools as well to add new features that UWE doesn't have the time for or doesn't have interest in.

Its all good that the tools are cross platform - infact fantastic.

But what about the game?

From the FAQ it seems its directx9

The FAQ says you need a graphics card with directX 9 features, not that it needs directX

I imagine we will hear about it in the next podcast

can't u just use WINE ?

A native port is always better, wine has improved but is still not "good to use" (at least in my view). Take Steam, for exaple, it runs on wine, but then there was an update to the community thing (friends) and it's now not working properly since half a year. Wine is great for small tools which don't need much access to the system (e.g. gfx functions) like uTorrent. But it also comes with restrictions, e.g. you can't use apt to get/update your stuff - which is one of the main reasons I switched completely to linux. It's now like 10% of the effort as on a WindowsXP System to stay updated, I don't have to keep track of a quadrillion websites or RSS feeds to see which tool gets updated and has security issues fixed. It's all one click in Synaptic.

Linux has many distros, but if the game uses OpenGL it will be fairly easy to make it work on any of them.

I would buy a copy for my Debian/Ubuntu machines.

The idea of OpenSource tools for NS2 is of course a step in the right direction - you guys need manpower, but your budget is limited, so let the community help you!

just showing my support for a linux client. openSUSE ftw.

+1 for ns2.deb

Most mods for Steam don't work on WINE. For example, I believe Dystopia still doesn't work, and NS has been sketchy at best on WINE.

Thought it was worth getting a copy of this quote in this thread too

Wine just isn't acceptable tbh.

Most programs in wine will experience performance drops unless they are extremely well built.

A native port is always better, it means i can take advantage of Linux's superior system usage, and get better performance.

You even managed to get me to quit lurking and post :o

I would definitively buy the game if it was ported. Linux is sadly quite lacking when it comes to games, it's a real shame.

PS: Keep up the good work.

I've had murder trying to get NS working under wine - i'm suffering total system lockouts within seconds of it loading, and it seems to be audio related. I've tried most of the sound options in wine, as well as cedega (which was amazing in terms of frame rate) but suffer from the same problem.

Strangely, HL itself runs just dandy in wine.

This is mainly on variants of ubuntu using the wubi installer btw, although i've also tried non-wubi distribs under VirtualBox (but to be fair, it isn't designed for 3d gaming).

Linux/Wine sound... so much hate. But I eventually got it to work, though it meant that while NS worked, HL didn't. I forget what I did now though. Takes a bit of work but can be done.

That said, as far as graphical glitches go, I find for NS the vista 64 experience the same as WINE... namely messed up sprites and font colours.

As far as the tools go, how about the already-open-source QuArK? Radiant?

I currently dual boot into a Kubuntu Wubi install, though I just have it to test out KDE4 at the moment (ran Ubuntu full time on my old computer last summer.) Gaming is pretty much my only reason for using Windows. I know everything else I need works on Mac's and Linux, both.

We looked at them, but ultimately decided it would be easier and faster to create our own editor than try and make those work the way we want them to.

NS and HL all steam games work for me in wine, without configuration, but the performance drop just isn't worth the time.

The only reason they work is because the Wine devs made it a point for the Steam games to work. However, this means hacks and not really Steam support, just implementing what the HL1/HL2/HL2Ep1/CS/etc. games require, not how they actually operate. So, since mods make use of the actual background foundation in Steam, and Wine re-implements most of it, they fail miserably.

However, one of my Linux fanatics managed to get NS to work for a little time. Then some stuff went kabloom and it doesn't work anymore.

I'd also buy a copy if there were a native linux version.

Well, a Mac is, Linux however isn't ;-) It costs actually quite..nothing.

oh, and please release the linux SERVER version of NS2 together with the windows one. Crytek made the mistake to release the linux server of FarCry half a year after the release, and the MP scene was dead by then. And FarCry had a singleplayer mode.. which NS2 hasn't

Seriously, garrysmod did still wont release a linux version and honestly, who in their right mind is going to run a windows server? Aside from the security issues, stability problems, overhead from loading unused parts of the operating system, the cost of a windows server is always more expensive due to the licensing cost of Windows.

And no, OS X is not linux. The OS X kernel, Darwin, is based off the BSD kernel however it has been modified, like open, free, and netbsd. OS X is the Darwin kernel with the BSD tools with aqua interface slapped on top.

I would love to switch to Linux with my favorite games backing me up, Savage 2, Natural Selection 2, sadly no Left4Dead :'( :'(

Please support Linux!

I wouldn't be surprised if we supported Linux. The question is really timing. We have so much to do I'm not sure we would prioritize this with the release of 1.0.

Doing just the dedicated server for Linux would be a lot easier and might be the right thing to do right out of the gate. Later we can (and likely will) port all over the place. This is one of the big advantages with have over using something like Source.

I, and I'm sure most Linux users, will be glad to get the game at any point ( As long as it isn't like more than a year later )

Personally I'm really impressed that Unknown Worlds is interested in cross platform you guys just became my number one games company

only reason i still game on windows is becuz ns sucks on linux, i would pay for a linux version of ns anyday...

A couple things to keep in mind when developing a linux version. If you are planning on releasing an linux client do so in a timely manner, on disk installers/clients would be preferred but if it's just not possible don't wait a long period of time. EPIC promised us a native linux client for Unreal Tournament 3 and after almost a year they have still not delivered. Now the online community is fairly dead and if/when they do finally release there will be a very small number of people still playing. The other thing to realize about linux development is that you immediately have a large base of users who are also developers and want to do everything in their power to make the gaming industry realize that there is a market here. Many of us are willing to test, submit bugs, write tools, or contribute help just to make sure that we are able to play. There are plenty of ways to gain publicity such as offering stories and interviews to linux magazine and websites as well as many sites and blogs who will freely publish information.

i Totally agree, im more then willing to test any beta versions of ns on linux if it was going to be done.... i would support you guys with what ever and where ever i could...

I already play on Linux anyhow.. If there was a native version of it, Id be more than likely to play more often, and buy a copy.

(I notice that I, and several of my friends play native client games more often than via wine/cedega)