Releasing on Linux
Archives Forums/Linux Discussion/Releasing on Linux
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| So I have completed my mini game and want to release it on linux, as well as mac and windows of course and have a few questions: A) If I install and compile my game on the latest version of ubuntu will the game then run on other versions of linux without the end user having to install extra packages etc? B) What is the 'polite' way to package a game for linux. For example, in mac and windows I will be making a self installer. Is that usually done for Linux, or just a zip file? If installer is done, can you recommend any install makers? |
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| A) If you have used the standard BlitzMax mods and whatnot, then it should run just fine. B) .tar.gz is a fairly common package type. (tarred then zipped -> tar -cf mystuff.tar folder_name , gzip -9 mystuff.tar) Unzipped the user has a folder from where an exe can be run from. Otherwise, you might prefer to have it install a menu in say, Games. But then you need to build a proper distro, so that things end up in the correct places. FYI : https://help.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/packagingguide/C/basic-chap.html :-) |
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| There are a million and one package formats for linux, depending on what distro you're using, so if you're making self-installers I'd definitely start with a .deb for ubuntu/debian and then a .rpm for redhat. The rest, I suppose, can just use a .tar.gz. Some games distribute a bash script which installs the game, but I don't like it when they do that because it doesn't appear in the package manager. |
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| I -HATE- it when people make an installer for a small game/application, which is another benefit to Linux, usually people will package this sort in a compressed archive (which is what I would recommend). |
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| Well, that depends. I installed JACK and RoseGarden yesterday, both of which showed up in my Audio apps menu, which meant I didn't need to go rummaging for them on the system (or try to remember where they were installed at a later date). For a game, sure, having it in a normal archive is fine. But for some users who are more used to things being installed for them, there's no harm in having an installer add a link via a menu. |
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| especially when installing and uninstalling packages is so easy in debian, compared to windows. |
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| I think I will just zip the linux version up. I would have thought that computer skill of someone who downloads the game for linux would be higher than that of a mac/windows user, so I think I can just get away with a zip for linux. |
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| Use .tar.gz to retain the executable bit in your binaries NOT zip. |
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| Yes i vote for the simple tar approach to simple apps/games too. It depends how dependent your app is. If its just reliant on the OpenGl stuff, mono, java or whatever, then i would stick to the archive. If it needs loads of odd deps then a package may be prefered at least for the major distros (rpm & deb) I personally like it when people include a required package list, eg "HowToRun.txt" or easy to find on the website, however your app should moan and tell the player what to apt-get anyway when running from terminal (but its useful for noobs who prefer everything clicky-ble). |
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