Linux support?

Well, as the game integrates parts of Stardock's Object Desktop suite, and that suite is only available for Windows... That's another mark against Linux. I wouldn't hold your breath at all.

I'm afraid we just don't have the time/resources to do testing on Linux.  It's hard enough to make sure Windows 98/ME work right.

If Linux proponents wanted support, the best thing they could have done would ahve been to join the beta in significant numbers so that they could have helped provide us with feedback. Then we could find out how much effort it would take to make it work under Linux.  But at this stage, it's way too late.

The best you'll be able to hope for is support through Cedega (formerly WineX)

To be honest, I think it would be the Wine developers who need to make sure their work is compatible enough for stuff like DX9 type programs to be able to run. Not meant to diss the work they put into it as that has been and is a hell of a job but it's not the Windows programmers who should be the ones to make sure their product works on "alien" OSses

...it's not the Windows programmers who should be the ones to make sure their product works on "alien" OSses

Aw, come on. Didn't you see the movie "Independence Day"? We all saw how easy it was to write a computer virus which disabled the alien shields. Can't be that hard!

Aw, come on. Didn't you see the movie "Independence Day"? We all saw how easy it was to write a computer virus which disabled the alien shields. Can't be that hard!

As I recall, that virus popup looked suspiciously like a Mac, though...

If you're a PC gamer, why don't you just have a partition with Windows XP installed on it? You'd have access to a lot more games and you won't have to run stuff in an emulator.

Seriously. I'm not trying to be snide.  I just don't understand why you wouldn't have a Windows XP partition. 

I've run games on a dual boot system for more than 10 years. For a long time, I had to dual boot for other applications as well. Now, the only thing tying me to Microsoft are games.

Even those are slowly beginning to become available on multiple platforms. I can now limit my purchases to Linux or multi-platform games first (DropTeam, Savage2, UT2004, Enemy Territory, X2:The Threat, Doom III, etc), Windows games that can run in Linux usingTransgaming's Cedega or Wine second (Civ4, HL2, etc), and Windows only third (BF2, America's Army,GalCiv2?).

Trust me, it's not much fun to have to boot into Windows once or twice a week just to play a game. I would far rather remain in Linux as much as I can. I find it a much nicer environment to use day to day than Windows. So, I personally would be a very happy camper if we can run GalCiv2 under either Wine or Cedega. Failing that, I'll consider putting it on my Windows partition. Assuming that I like the demo, anyhow.

As an aside to the possibility of getting good Linux support for any Stardock game: I can't even upload a small .jpg to use as my avatar. My guess is that the Website is choking on the path, which is your basic Unix style /home/username/.../filename.

The first error message that popped showed that the Website has been built on a .NET framework. Now, it's certainly /possible/ to build websites using .NET that are browser and OS agnostic. My company's developers do it all the time. However, Microsoft certainly doesn't encourage the practice in any of their tools, templates, or documentation.

Sigh. Too bad.

If you're a PC gamer, why don't you just have a partition with Windows XP installed on it? You'd have access to a lot more games and you won't have to run stuff in an emulator. Seriously. I'm not trying to be snide. I just don't understand why you wouldn't have a Windows XP partition.

The answer is simple: I don't want, nor can I afford, to pay for a XP licence. And as stated by sgt. rock, it's a bit of "turnoff" to have to close all your applications, reboot in order to just play a game...

I'd like very much a Linux version. So much that I'd even pay the same price for the game again (hey, we're talking about a damn fine game on a damn fine OS ). I understand it might be too costly to port it to linux now, but maybe you could include linux support in your expansion pack? please? hell, let it be unsupported too, just gives us the game on linux

Sorry, but there's just far too little potential (let alone guaranteed) return in putting the budget into a linux port. It's not even there yet for multiplayer, and that's something that at least 1/3 of the people on this forum would be willing to pay for.

Victory!

I tried the newest version of wine (0.9.29) and got the game working on linux.. the previous version didn't work, but this works.. (well some fonts were presented as blocks but that doesnt affect the gameplay. )

Holy ¡"@!

Are you really serious?? Mind telling me how you did it (the install process and so on) so I can try it too? This would be really awesome if it works! yar, now I might consider buying the expansion too

Yes I am serious.. I almost didn't belive my eyes when I saw the game actually start. I have only played for couple of turns so I haven't done very good testing yet.. I'm currently busy so I can write so instructions later. But basicly grab the newest version of wine (0.9.29 released 9.1.2007) and use it to install the game and update the game to 1.4x. It should run without any changes to winecfg

// hefa

Ah great, will try that out! one question though, does stardock work under wine? I don't have acess to a windows computer (it's on service)... So how do I install/update it if stardock dosen't work?

umm.. I bought the game from store so I had the installation disk locally. And as for the update I downloaded the patch from this site and installed it also by using wine. I don't own any windows machines so I haven't even tried the stardock service..

Well.. After some testing I don't belive that it is fully playable yet. I had several crashes when trying to play.As for the font issue, it seems to be connected to newline marking.

But this gives hope that we can play GalCiv2 from linux someday.

Oh that's too bad. I'd love to see the game playable on Linux (I use Linux only - gave up Windows long ago and don't want to dual boot because of ideological reasons hehe, and I don't want to pay for Windows). Anyway, if you happen to try again and it works, let us know!

Well, when GalCiv3 will be in beta stage, if you want a linux tester just contact me ^^
It would be quite easy for you to port it if you natively develop it with "OpenGL" in mind for the rendering engine, DirectX closes much doors to portability, and it will be even more archaic with the comming of DirectX 10 which is ONLY vista compatible... (so DX10 games won't even run on XP (and I hope that some dev teams will just switch to opengl, so make much more games portables... so they could make more money by selling it to a larger panel of people...))

And if you want to port it to other "M$ specific hardware" at any cost (such as xb360), just modularize the rendering engine, and let the user choose between opengl and directx, so porting to other platforms will only need a few adjustements in the source code

Yep, if you need linux beta testers for any versions of Galciv, let me know. I would like to play this in linux. Tired of windows.

There's no way I'm running Vista.

You can also count me in when you will need beta testers for Linux version of your next release of GalCiv (or any other 4X game). Also don't forget to send out the call to various Linux gaming sites. I'm sure you will get enough people who will be willing to do testing on Linux.

Id also like to make myself available for any Linux beta testing,
Linux is a growing community that will reward those who support it.

I will add my .02 as well.
I have no intention of ever getting Vista - or any other Windows OS.

Linux is getting more user friendly all the time, and it won't be long before it is the mainstream OS (in whatever flavor).

I just bought a second hard drive to try out the newest Ubuntu distro, and it is hands down as easy, if not easier, to use than is Windows. Dependable and reliable automatic updates, good documentation and support, as well as being a no cost option. And with Beryl, I don't even care about multi-monitors anymore. It is at least as good as anything Vista can provide in 3D desktops.
(still working on getting my TV tuner card to work, but...)


If Stardock will heed the growing number of Linux users, they will seriously consider coding for more than M$ Window$.

So I add my support to all the Linux users out there, and the offer to beta test the next version or expansion of GalCiv under a Linux platform.

C'mon, Stardock. Get with the program. Windows is on its way out, just as Linux is on its way in.
I too would buy a Linux version, as opposed to expecting a free 'upgrade', just to remove myself just that much more from the M$ monopoly.

I wouldn't hold my breath for Linux becoming a big deal for gaming any time soon. The simple fact is most publishers would rather code for the bigger market. Since Microsoft seem intent on tying in the Xbox & Windows into a unified base, they're going to have a huge advantage in that respect. Even should the entire home PC market convert to Linux, it still doesn't match the console market in terms of profitability.

I understand the reasons Stardock and other game developers write for Windows. However, if more game developers were to write games that can be played on Linux (not so much written specifically for Linux but with porting to other platforms in mind), you would find significant numbers of users leaving Windows entirely for Mac and Linux. Also the there is the added bonus of increased sales. You would be amazed at how many people there are that use Mac or Linux exclusively and won't touch anything that can't be run with Cedega or Cider.

Most people do not want to switch to Vista, it has received alot of bad press, it is said to take longer to boot, it uses alot more resources, and many gamers that have bought it for DX10 have been complaining about gaming performance. Microsoft knows this, which is why it is doing everything it can to force people to buy Vista. If given a choice most Windows users would continue to buy their new systems with XP pre-installed.

Games are the only thing that has kept Microsoft alive. If it wasn't for games I believe most people would be using Linux because it is inexpensive, while a large number of others would be using Macs. With the release of Vista more and more people are looking to Mac and Linux for their next computer purchase. If game developers start writing games that are only playable on a Vista machine, I believe they will find a noticeable drop in sales. I truly believe that by forcing gamers to switch to Vista to keep gaming you will alienate all but the most hardcore gamers.

I am currently running a dual boot machine with Windows XP and Xandros Linux. For my next computer upgrade I still plan to run Windows XP for gaming and Linux for everything else. Ideally I would like to have dedicated systems, so I don't have to dual boot, but that doesn't bother me much because XP is a good Windows OS. However, if I'm put in the position where the only version of Windows I can purchase is Vista, I will not buy it. Other than games (due to the way they are coded), Linux and Mac can do everything Windows can do and even some things Windows can't do. I find no need to purchase MS Office when Open Office and Star Office can do all the same things without the price tag.

I would happily beta test Stardock games or Stardock Central in Linux. If Stardock wants to continue to make games that are not Linux compatible, but are still Windows XP compatible, I will still buy them. However if I'm given the choice of buying Vista to play games or not being able to find games compatible with my system, I will stop buying new games.